Taking Time

Today marks the first Sunday of Lent, which traditionally means all bets are off--Sundays aren't technically a part of Lent, so they don't count towards the 40 days. They're cheat days. As a kid, I loved when Lent Sundays rolled around. I could eat chocolate, drink soda, watch TV, and take part in whatever I had given up, guilt-free...well, with only minor guilt. I was convinced the "good" Catholics didn't take Sundays off.

Now, Sundays are a day to reflect on what went well the past week and what I can work on in the week ahead:

• Because it's Nutrition Month, my mindless snacking has been almost under control. My snacks are better for me, at least, and I've been making a lot of meals at home which cuts down on convenience store junk.
• While I make my meals, I clean up after myself. I've also gotten into the habit of doing any leftover dishes in the mornings while I wait for my coffee/tea to cool.
• I haven't been writing fiction lately, but I am writing more traditional blog posts, which I wanted to get back into, and I'm doing a lot of behind the scenes work on this baby.
• It could just be the weather, but I'm in a much better mental place than I have been the past few weeks. I'm hoping for big changes in the next year, but with change comes anxiety and ups and downs, so I'm riding out this high as long as I can and trying to turn it into positive action.
• Forgiveness is difficult. It's also a nebulous concept--so simple, yet so strange. I went to Apartment Yoga yesterday (it's exactly what it sounds like, yoga at a friend's apartment), and the nugget I walked away with was "Forgive yourself." It's okay if you can't get to the full expression of every pose, because sometimes our bodies just aren't there yet. I had to do a lot of forgiving. It got easier (the forgiving part, not the yoga part), and I hope that generosity continues this week.

Today also marks the beginning of Daylight Saving Time--I'm sure even if you didn't have to consciously change a clock, your body clock noticed--and while I'm excited for it to be light out when I leave work, I know it'll take my body a bit to get used to the change. Losing an hour is never fun, even when we hide that hour in the middle of the night in the middle of the weekend. I'm a person who needs a lot of time (to fall asleep, to wake up, to make decisions, to adjust, to reflect, to not get overwhelmed...), so this week I really want to be intentional with how I use my time. I want to focus more on the important things: cooking awesome meals for myself and whoever is at my apartment, reading works by authors I want to emulate, being present at work, and investing in myself by taking care of my body and my mind.

I'll start by making a giant pot of wild rice soup, continuing my yoga practice from the comfort of my own apartment, turning off my devices, and getting lost in a book.