I absolutely refuse to suffer from PVBD (post vacation boredom and depression).
I will NOT give into the blues.
Is it monotonous and mundane to cook and clean again? YES!
Did I throw the remote control at the TV when Jon and Kate anounced their divorce? YES!
Would I rather be stalking Broadway and watching the Jonas Brothers on Regis and Kelly? YES! YES! YES!
But life stinks! The sooner we harden our hearts and embrace our eternal misery, the better.
One of my friends suggested a book that is helping me transition into the harsh reality and responsiblity of domestic bliss. It's called Romancing the Ordinary by Sarah Ban Breathnach.
Miss Sarah says that life is a great romance. She quotes Elizabeth Millar about the love affair we must develop with life:
An intimate relationship with living awaits every woman who in her wisdom chooses to fill her heart with the multitude of wonders unfolding in the stillness of a moment.
Doesn't it sound lovely?
Miss Sarah encourages all women to use their senses to excite and engage the ordinary tasks of daily living, and she points out that when we are in the throes of great romance our sensory perceptions soar!
If romance can enchant a mundane love, why not a mundane life? I figured it was worth a try and you know what . . . it really works.
First I put on my black leather teddy to scrub the kitchen floor. I was invigorated as I scrubbed and scrubbed with my whole heart and I could feel the vinegar and bleach tingling against my fingertips like little jolts of electricity.
I read Pablo Neruda poetry to my toilet after it backed up and spilled generously out upon the bathroom floor. I couldn't help but inhale deeply and give thanks for the bountiful blessings of smell.
I sweet talked my dryer when it stopped blowing hot air. My mom was right. Inanimate objects need love and appreciation too.
I gave my broken computer a box of chocolates and my loose fan belt a dozen roses. I sent a diamond necklace in with my over due phone bill payment and I texted love notes to my clogged garbage disposal.
Ordinary life can truly be extraordinary if one only makes an effort to keep the spark alive.
And best of all . . . the magic quilt is almost done. YAY! YAY! YAY! (That's three cheers for Kritta 22.) Check it out here.
27 comments:
Am I first??!!!
Score!
Ok I read the post now! I just wanted to beat all y'alls!
The quilt is almost done! Thanks for my wondeful Mom that really got my butt in gear. It's refreshing when she comes to play!
Off to take a short nap so I can sew into the night! Got finish two quilts this week! Heart you all!
hate to interrupt the Kritta love... I'm just hoping that your late phone bill was inadvertently addressed to me...
ACK!!!! II'm terrible, I did not send my fabric..I totally forgot to do it...I'll hit the post office tomorrow....sorry
I've never said this to anyone before, but. . . I sure wish I was your garbage disposal.
I think my ordinary life is going through a dry spell! I am feeling no kind of love for cleaning!
I think Miss Sarah wasnt getting any from her hubby so she had to turn to household items!
was your husband watching you scrub the kithcen floor? haha!
Did the box of chocolates work on your computer? ... mine died too!
ha ha Iwa. NO none of it worked. And no my hub didn't watch. ha ha Do you think I would actually scrub my kitchen floor? hee hee
And do you really think I would own a black leather teddy? hee hee
I'm trying to picture a Dummy in a black teddy. AWKWARD! Did John and Kate really do it for the kids? Do kids really want stuff or their parents? Did I miss the counseling they went to? I'm just sayin.
I've been trying to appreciate normal life all wrong, I see. Thanks for the suggestions.
Well, I guess I can erase the "Jon and Kate" special from my tivo now. Oh well, leaves more room for "Law and Order" reruns.
I wondered where my black leather floor scrubbing teddy had disappeared to. Next time you raid my naughty housekeeping drawer, Crash, you need to ask. Lemme guess: You have my roach killing bustierre too, huh?
Yay, you're home, I don't have to be jealous anymore!!
I have no wittiness left in me - getting a scout ready for camp has left me anxious and exhausted with only boring things to comment - sorry :(
Hmm, I don't know about this perky attitude you've come home with. It might be catching...
I always did say that if I vacuumed in my wedding dress it would be more fun. I'll have to buy a black teddy and try out that floor scrubbing thing.
Oops, I didn't mean I wanted to be your garbage disposal. I don't want you to text me love notes. I wanted the chocolate. So actually, I want to be your computer.
Whew. Glad I clarified that.
Wow you almost make keeping a house sound fun. Almost. I hate toilets whose cups overflow. Dang.
Ya, I think I'll just stick with my down in the dumps attitude.
Maybe if you keep being all happy and stuff I might change my mind...
Maybe.
I can attest to the dryer not drying. After I washed the boys' smelly, dirty, cub-scout-day-camp clothes I stuck them in the dryer and pressed start thinking they would actually dry. Four days later I decided to check and they were sopping wet and smelly again. So I washed them again and dryed them, but this time I checked. No, they were wet, so I gave them an hour more. I don't know if they were still wet when you got home or what. Have you ever tried cleaning the vents? It helps a lot.
Plus, you aren't really depressed anyway. Crash has been to the beach the pool and to the newspaper/icecream meeting since she's been back. She just wants you to feel sorry for her.
I have to dry everything at least 5 hours. I took everything to the laundry mat, but do you know you have to buy a card for $5 and then pay $8 on top of that just to use the gigantic dryer. We called Peter and are hoping he can help.
No, I'm not depressed because I am romancing the ordinary. I feel like I'm on my honeymoon again.
And you silly goose, Martha, I don't want anyone to feel sorry for me. I just want to make everyone laugh.
Youngblood, are you depressed? I think we better go do our visiting teaching to Youngblood.
IWA, who are you going to call to fix your computer? I already had Bro Stanley come over and he couldn't fix ours. Now it's totally dead.
You can use my dryer. I only charge $3 for the card and $4 for the drying.
(I gotta pay the fairy godmother, y'know?)
Strangely enough I have been taking the time this summer to wash dishes. I'll let you know how long that lasts.
Toilets don't like Neruda. They only like Elvis. No wonder it was vomiting so much.
I whisper sweet nothings to the stuff growing on the rubber between the sink and the garbage disposal.
I'm too scared to touch it, so I figure I might as well make it feel welcome.
Hey, BYUH just replaced a ton of computers. I even got a new HP in my office. I called Kamaile and they are selling the old towers for $50-$75. So call her tomorrow and I bet you can score one.
Oh, and you can use my dryer if you want silly. But, you'll have to make me cookies. Or you could use the Hawaiian Breezes for free. I'll lend you a rope to hang the clothes on.
Kritta Freaking ROCKS!!! YAY KRITTA!
I need a leather out fit to scrub cause I NEVER like it... not before OR after.
But this whole romanticizing thing makes me hopeful, I need to get that book and read it!
Ok Crash. Time to ditch that black leather teddy and get back to blogging. It's been much too long. I need a distraction you know!
As you wish, Sandi. Anything for you, girlfriend.
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