This is the final post for the 31 Day Challenge. Find all the previous posts here.
Tonight, there will be revelry. Friends and family will gather and costumes adorned. The doorbells will be rung and the candy will be eaten. At the end of the night candy will be strewn all over the bed and floor, wrappers covering children (and parents) as they succumb to sugar comas and then when midnight strikes, we will gain an hour and lose this month. We will officially be entering into November and all the holiday festivities (I received an ad today for a sale on Christmas trees). But before I say adieu to this month, I am going to take a moment to reflect back on what this month has taught me, both the silly and the serious.
Teaching/tutoring takes patience, brain power and time.
Kudos to every teacher I have ever met and will never get the opportunity. Hats off to your lesson planning, kid wrangling and time managing skills. I do not know how you have time outside of work. I appreciate you.
Meal planning is actually very beneficial.
I'm sure you've had the conversation. The one where you ask, "What do you want to eat?" and your spouse responds, "I don't know. What do you want to eat?" This banter continues until you have circled yourself into a corner of frustration and you just want to eat chocolate chips because you cannot reach an agreement. Hanger is real my friends.
So I decided to take the advice of you amazing women who juggle kids, work and cooking. I made a weekly meal plan. I had my doubts, mostly thinking it would stifle my creativity or I would run out of ideas. In fact, it has been very freeing. I don't end up annoyed when the topic of dinner arises. I have a plan and I can adjust accordingly because I have ingredients for 7 meals. One night we decide to go out? No big deal. We can save that recipe for another day.
Brilliant, I tell you! Genius! Thank you multi-tasking women. Thank you.
Thirty-one days on one topic will reveal patterns to your thinking.
Reflecting on grace has been a great topic for this month, especially as I've transitioned into a new schedule and a new job. But it has also taught me that there are some patterns of thinking that are hard to break. For example, fear of failure. One viewer picked up on this quickly. In every post, I think this wriggling thought made an appearance.
Fear. It boxes you in and shackles you to a wall. Change your perspective and you will free yourself. But that change may take gradual steps forward, so long as movement continues, you will not be the same you today as yesterday. Just keep moving.
I am a writer.
I may not have been a consistent writer but I believe I've found my voice. It's a balance of the fun with the serious. "A Study in Grace" is what I want to embody. I want to always be learning how to be more gracious towards myself and towards others. This life is so much more enjoyable if it is done fluidly while embracing the essence of who we are as well as embracing the gifts that offered.
The biggest gift I have been given is my passion for the written word. I stand baffled at the idea of children not being able to read and a world without books is my greatest nightmare. I see literature as a commentary and a living history on society and instead of sitting on the sidelines (as I have for years), I want to take part.
I want to join my voice with those already speaking. Every voice is different but every voice is needed. Every gift necessary. Every person important.
I am a writer and I am so glad to finally be embracing it.
What have you learned this month? Share in the comments below.
No comments:
Post a Comment