Report Card + 30 Days of Thanks

I have a new Sunday routine, starting with going to bed early Saturday night (around 10:00) and then getting up early Sunday to go to yoga.  This morning, I hauled my bike out of the basement since we’re experimenting with not using the car, and biked to the studio.  I felt stiff and achy on the way there.  Even without the trailer, my bike felt heavy after a two-month’s absence of pedals.  I wondered how I would make it through an hour and 45 minute yoga class.

But a few stretches in, all I could wonder was how I went three weeks without yoga.  There were moments of pain, moments of exhaustion, and lots of moments spent cursing the studio’s heat, but, oh, did it feel lovely to have time to think about and concentrate on myself.  During savasana, the image of a dove floated behind my eyelids and I meditated on the word “peace.”  The sound of it, how the letters appeared in my mind, and how I could absorb it into my soul.  I coasted home on my bicycle, the tone set for the day.

And it was a lovely day.  Upper 50’s, warm and sunny, perfect for trips to the park to dig in sandand drive buses.Perfect for inspecting the few trees in town already decorated for the holiday“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness,” she said over and over.

Then after a long play and a long walk through town, we came home so little Miss Nora could take a rare nap.  In the afternoon, we did yard work and chased Pip around outside, laughing.  We ate dinner, made hazelnut meringues and orange meringues, read books, cleaned the entire downstairs, and easy-as-pie, Nora drifted off to sleep.  I wish every day could be like today.  It feels like a housewife “win.”

Other days, not so much.  Yesterday, after many toddler breakdowns and emotional explosions, I finally suggested popcorn, “hot milk” (basically chai without the caffeinated tea), and a screening of Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving on our picnic blanket.

It did take away the grump, but I felt like it was a little bit of a cop out.

Yesterday, I got some things done but traded more sleep for less housework.  Some days, that just has to happen, but I don’t exactly feel great about it.  I think I will always battle the “keeping house” challenge.  It’s an every-other day situation, at best.  But today?

Today was a day made for a report card.  Going to Yoga, doing housework, delicious meals and novel baked goods, and perfect inner balance ideal for maintaining patience and stopping potential tantrums in their tracks.

And, of course, sunsets.

And let’s not forget the dancing:

There’s not one thing I wasn’t thankful for today.

Here’s to hoping my yoga-high will carry on throughout the week.