Oh my goodness I nearly choked with laughter on my tea when I read the paragraph about Thomas asking if they knew Bob. What a great way to describe his earnestness! I'm a deep dive person too, and like you struggled with the whole small business and networking thing. I had a whole strategy framework to gear myself up for any event, and gosh, what a relief when I gave it all up. I'm really enjoying your writing Jen; thanks for making a delightful place to hang out.
Besides not having responsibilities and chores to do and things to worry about, wet blankets have a huge advantage of not having the capacity to care even if such things were to arise. So maybe the life of a wet blanket isn't so bad after all
Thanks for the shout-out, Jen! You rock. I'll do the same for you soon! Scratching backs and all that.
But first I want to say is that when you write -- "They were all frivolous things not attached to a task or project, like meandering around Swanson’s Nursery, or watching a movie in bed in the middle of the day, or picking flowers in my garden and making bouquets." -- I hope you know that this is exactly what self-care is all about! You already know, it seems to me, how to find appreciative joy. It's just that our brains will comment on this and say, "stop wasting time, stop being so selfish, yadda yadda."
And even writing your Substack, though you could see it as a task or project, I would imagine provides a sense of release, of calm, and of community. I know it does all that for me when I write. In fact, if it didn't I wouldn't have a Substack!:)
“Not being needed, is what it feels like for me to rest.”<--thank you for putting into words what I have not been able to articulate. I just started therapy again, and I’ve been bouncing all around this idea but never actually landing on it. Today I’m going to do a whole lot of frivolous things...right after I head over and read Steve’s post.
I agree re more Thomases in the world! And thank you for your kind words re my writing. So glad you're here!
Oh, and Diggers is a good contender!
Oh my goodness I nearly choked with laughter on my tea when I read the paragraph about Thomas asking if they knew Bob. What a great way to describe his earnestness! I'm a deep dive person too, and like you struggled with the whole small business and networking thing. I had a whole strategy framework to gear myself up for any event, and gosh, what a relief when I gave it all up. I'm really enjoying your writing Jen; thanks for making a delightful place to hang out.
Thank you, Sabrina. Appreciate your kind words - and thanks for hanging out with me!
Besides not having responsibilities and chores to do and things to worry about, wet blankets have a huge advantage of not having the capacity to care even if such things were to arise. So maybe the life of a wet blanket isn't so bad after all
Excellent points!
The "zuggies"? Not being needed, is what it feels like for me to rest. Doing something just because. _ yes how does one do this?
Not sure how to do it! Still working on it!
So grateful for your cannonball into our lives. You encourage us to get our a$$es off the diving board. More splash, less treading water!
I don’t know Thomas that well, but he reminds me of the words of Jesus to Nathanael: “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.”
Thank you Jim!
The piano... parking garage mayhem... the scaffolding of death; there’s a lot of room to move here. Lol.
As for the mountains, I’m not sure anyone outside of Seattle or Portland can really “get” how ingrained Rainer & Hood are in our lives.
Thanks for the shout-out, Jen! You rock. I'll do the same for you soon! Scratching backs and all that.
But first I want to say is that when you write -- "They were all frivolous things not attached to a task or project, like meandering around Swanson’s Nursery, or watching a movie in bed in the middle of the day, or picking flowers in my garden and making bouquets." -- I hope you know that this is exactly what self-care is all about! You already know, it seems to me, how to find appreciative joy. It's just that our brains will comment on this and say, "stop wasting time, stop being so selfish, yadda yadda."
And even writing your Substack, though you could see it as a task or project, I would imagine provides a sense of release, of calm, and of community. I know it does all that for me when I write. In fact, if it didn't I wouldn't have a Substack!:)
“Not being needed, is what it feels like for me to rest.”<--thank you for putting into words what I have not been able to articulate. I just started therapy again, and I’ve been bouncing all around this idea but never actually landing on it. Today I’m going to do a whole lot of frivolous things...right after I head over and read Steve’s post.
Love your words. Love you. Keep writing.