22 in 22? Don’t mind if I do!
#14 Mise en Place and Weekly Planning
Ooooh! It”s been a while since we’ve talked about Mise en Place, that little magic trick that we can each perform in the evening to make the next day start off on the right foot!
Well. For the first time in a very long time, I had a Mise en Place fail. Oh, I did it, but I forgot an essential element to it, which meant that I threw my whole mojo off. Not forever, but for long enough to pluck a string of anxiety in my heart.
I had planned on wearing one of my fabulous zebra dresses. I had gotten out everything that needed to go with the dress…my hosiery, my cardigan, my shoes, my underwear. I hung it all up in the bathroom, to which I would pussyfoot at 4:00AM to get dressed.
But…once I got there, I realized I had forgotten my full-slip, the one I wear under that zebra dress (and any number of other dresses, too). It’s more like an underdress, not really a slip. I”m old fashioned like that, though. I wear a slip with everything. Anyhoo.
I couldn’t put my zebra dress on at 4:00AM because I was missing an essential foundational element. So I had to do what I could, and then wait until later, because I didn’t want to wake anyone up by turning on a light in my closet looking for my slip.
So I went out to my couch, where I work in the pre-dawn hours, all the while with just this little taut string of anxiety that I wasn’t yet ready for the day, and that I still had something I had to do.
I guess I got a bit lazy with my Mise en Place. It”s all forgiven, I’m not holding it against myself or anything. But it just goes to show how much I have come to rely on this little habit for making my life easier.
I realize that getting all the me stuff done early, before anyone else is up or around, means I can be fully available to everyone else when they do get up. Otherwise, I am fully distracted until I can get it done.
#18 Eat mindfully and with pleasure
I wasn’t super great at this at all, I don’t want to give myself too much credit where credit is not due. But in my effort to “serve my family with joy,” I did attempt to slow myself down while I was cooking…to make things prettier, to serve them in a way that was more pleasing.
I am 100% sure that no one noticed this but me.
In regards to the “with pleasure” thing, I did make an effort to ask, each day in the morning, what the boys would like for lunch. And I made sure I responded, carefully, “It would be my pleasure and honor to make you…” whatever it was he asked for. I even wrote it down. No one will be able to say that I am not trying.
As for actually eating mindfully, well, on that front, I failed gloriously. I was constantly wishing we had chocolate in the house (which we didn’t). That was probably my only saving grace this week.
#21 Do “Ideal Life” Exercise every day.
In our little Facebook group for our podcast listeners, I have been trying to set the example by posting an article about each theme daily, and then sharing my answers to the questions.
I realize that while it may only take five minutes a day, it is something that requires getting into the habit of doing…the first time, the second time through can be daunting. The third time is more fun, because there starts to be evidence of progress. But these first couple times, it’s about creating the habit, learning to silo the categories and not letting our thoughts spread out to everything that isn’t working.
In any case, I appreciate having the impetus to do the exercise.
Sing With Your Feet 