Keep it Simple

I have been doing a lot of thinking about simplifying my life of late. I manage to stay extra, super busy...I have no excuses. I don't have to care for a baby, help with homework, or drive around at four a.m. delivering papers with my son anymore. I have no PTA meetings, family members that require care taking; I don't even have a dog to walk. Yet, I pile on the obligations and question my choices...Is it time to just say "no"? Am I at the age where I need to have more time to reflect? I would like to know all there is about "slowing down" and "giving permission to oneself to be selfish".

While on vacation I had a recurring fantasy about writing a book about "keeping it simple"...Someone once said that we teach that which we want to learn. It really struck a chord.

Oh, I know, does the world really need another self help book? Well, maybe, one with gentle reminders...photographs of a man with a cat curled on his lap while reading. My friend Bruce getting ready to milk a cow or a sketch of my neighbor picking berries in her yard.

Maybe I will fantasize about writing the book or start it and just add to it as time goes on then pass it down to my son.

I know I will do something about it because I know how I am. No matter how un-busy I want to be there is a part of me that just needs to reach out and share. And there lies the paradox...the human connection. I crave company and want to share ideas. I adore my super smart friends even when they exhaust me. Making contact with people seems to heal.

So, if you see me with a hammer poised over my cell phone.....please please please remind me that I won't be able to obsessively check for text messages...

And now, Shop Girl has tired herself out fantasizing about the "keep it simple" book. Maybe I just need to go outside and quietly milk a cow.