The Apples in My Orchard

Yesterday, June 18th, 2018, I wrote about finding joy and the steps I will be taking to do just that. My initial actions were two-fold. 1) Make a list of the things that bring me joy, and 2) obtain some books on being joyful and/or finding joy.

I did neither of these things right away but instead focused on some routine Monday activities. First, I kept the laundry going my husband had started. This merely entailed folding a load, transferring another load, and starting a third.  Then, from 8:45 a.m. until 11:10 a.m. I retreated to my new writing office (door open) and worked on my blog. I also caught up on a few emails and made blueberry muffins.  By 11:15, I was outside, ready to pot up some more plants (you can never, ever have enough plants), and discovered I did not have enough soil. My husband had the day off and had just left minutes before to go to the hardware store, so I texted him to see if he could bring a bag of potting soil home.  In the meantime, I opened a 36 pound bag of Milorganite I had purchased last Thursday and started fertilizing some of our vegetable plants.  I will write about Milorganite in another post, but am going this route to fertilize this year.  As I was weeding the tomatoes and peppers, my husband arrived home with the soil. But, here is the caveat.  I did not jump from what I was doing to go pot. I finished the task at hand. After refilling the bird feeder and breaking for lunch, I proceeded back outside. (It was hot and humid , so I did change my attire into something less heat trapping than jeans and a long sleeved dry fit shirt.) Next, I decided to tackle the strawberry bed. It wasn’t too bad, but needed some weeding and some Milorganite, too. Although I felt like stopping mid-way through due to the heat and humidity, I did not. It was looking nice and I wanted a finished job – again, I noted that I simply stuck with the task at hand instead of being pulled away to something else.  Before I took off my gardening attire, however, I found three more monarch caterpillars on my rose milkweed.  I added them to the container in my kitchen. I now have one egg, five chrysalises, and seven caterpillars. (I had four before I added these three.) Each year I love taking care of this species more and more.

Mid-afternoon came and I switched my outfit yet again and headed out to the local bookstore, which consists of the nearby Barnes and Noble. Being a hot Monday afternoon, it was nearly empty – just the way I like it. I took my time perusing the books, looking over the titles, tables of contents, and even skimming a few pages. It reminded me of how much I like information and love to read.  I picked out a couple in the self-help section – one on joy and one on mindful aging. Next, I want to say I wandered to the business section but I really purposely went there to get a book, of which the subject and content I will not disclose here. If you read my post from earlier yesterday, you will know that I am supposed to be finding something just for me and not share what it is at the current time. So, the book I put in my “to buy” stack fit that criteria.  You’ll just have to be satisfied knowing I found something that struck a chord.  Lastly, I headed over the the fiction section. Since early May I have read two novels by Kristin Hannah, The Nightingale, and Night Road. Both were excellent reads. I wasted no time in selected a third novel of her’s called Firefly Lane.  Before I checked out, I made one last stop in the book store – in the reference section – and again, that is all you are going to get from me on that subject. But, while I was intrigued by a few titles there, I did not add to my “to purchase” stack. I need to do a little more research first on what type of reference to buy.

Now, I am home once again. I did check my email regarding a job related post that had to be written and sent out today.  But, today has been a really good day. Have I thought about what gives me joy? Yes! My list is starting. Perhaps, I’ll share it when I give you an update in July. But, given my activities of the day – I’ll bet you can guess at least a couple things on the list.

Most notable, however, is that I was mindful of HOW I conducted myself today. I did not rush from activity to activity. Once I started something, I stuck with it until finished. This reduction of multi-tasking was notable and something which I will have to keep an eye on. It might be a key element in my search for joy.

This post is part of the Slice of Life Tuesday Blog Forum hosted by the TwoWritingTeachers.org blog. Thank you for building a wonderfully supportive writing community in which all are welcome!