by Heather Plett | Sep 9, 2009 | summer
In years to come, we’ll probably refer to the summer of 2009 as the “summer that wasn’t”. I don’t remember when we’ve had so much disappointing weather. Mostly cool and rainy… followed by more cool and rainy. I think I wore shorts twice, and when I went shopping for clothes in the middle of the summer, I bought cardigan sweaters instead of cute little summer outfits.
But… at least it finished well! Gotta look on the bright side, I suppose. We just finished a perfectly lovely long weekend and we managed to celebrate the sun and warmth in almost every way we could. We went for bike rides, we took an artists’ studio tour of the interlake region north of our fair city, we went to the beach (as did thousands upon thousands of other starved-for-summer folks – oh my – the crowds!), we ate ice cream, we went for more bike rides, we went for drinks on a patio with friends, we went for walks – we did it all. Basically, we tried to live a whole summer in one weekend and, short of sitting by a campfire, we almost did.
At least now we’ll be a little more prepared when Fall starts knocking at our door.
by Heather Plett | Sep 2, 2009 | Uncategorized
When I read Jamie’s prompt for Wishcasting Wednesday (what do you wish to begin), I thought… oh my! That’s an easy one! There are so many things I want to begin!
The truth is, I’m a little addicted to change. I get restless if things stay static too long. I need something new in my life on a regular basis – a new adventure, a new job, a new project, a new creative art form to sink my teeth into, a new friendship – or I get bored and restless and a little bit ornery. (Just ask my husband about the look on my face when I get that “new project energy”.) That doesn’t mean I can’t stick with things (I’ve been married 16 years and a mom for 13 and don’t need to change either of those things!), it just means I need a few changes on a regular basis to balance the things that stay the same.
I come by it honestly – my mom lived on the same farm for 30 years, but she desperately needed SOMETHING to change, so she re-arranged the furniture nearly every week. We never knew for sure where the couch was going to be. Now that she’s off the farm, it’s not the furniture that’s moving, it’s HER. She’s barely in the same location 2 weeks in a row. It’s not unusual for her to call me from Wisconsin when I didn’t even know she’d left town.
But let’s get back to me… when I hear the word “beginnings”, I get a little giddy. The problem is, I get so excited about new stuff that I don’t always have enough focus to concentrate on one thing at a time. Right now, for example, I’m contemplating about a half dozen courses or workshops I’d like to take this Fall, but chances are I’ll get so flustered with trying to make the choice that I’ll suddenly realize that it’s a week too late to register for any of them.
So it’s time to focus my beginnings. This week, I want to begin (or at least register for) the following:
1. An art course of some kind. I think I’ve picked the one I want, now I just have to get around to registering.
2. Some way of learning more about the practical side of building my own consulting/writing business. I haven’t figured out exactly where I’ll start, but it could be a book, an e-course, or a local workshop. (Any suggestions?)
3. Find some serious focus time on how to move www.whatareyougivingaway.com from a lovely community space to something that generates an income for me. I know what I want to do – now I just have to spend time getting it done!
That’s more than enough for now. All the rest can wait!
p.s. Check out my guest this week at www.whatareyougivingaway.com. Some of you will know him!
by Heather Plett | Aug 26, 2009 | Uncategorized
If I can, I try to make a pilgrimage to my dad’s grave about once a year or so. (You can see a video of last year’s pilgrimage here.) For the past month, I’ve been feeling a real longing to make the trek across the prairie, so I did it yesterday.
Those of you who knew him will understand why I could only bring a raucous bouquet of wild flowers in a re-purposed bottle – Dad would have it no other way.
To read a little more about the journey I took, you can read about it at my other site.
As a bonus shot, here’s a sunflower field I just couldn’t resist photographing along the way. Did you know that, even on an overcast day like yesterday, the sunflowers still turn their faces toward the sun? Wish I could remember to do the same.
by Heather Plett | Aug 24, 2009 | Uncategorized
This week certainly had its emotional ups and downs, but thankfully it ended on an “up” (in more ways than one). Today was a really good day. I spoke in church and, the truth is, though it’s a lot of work and usually comes with some stress, I really do enjoy doing public speaking.
After church, because we were the only ones around and I wasn’t in the mood to cook, Maddy and I went on a little lunch date.
And then after lunch, we had to head out to the other end of the city to watch soccer. Julie’s team made it into the championship game for the tournament they were in, and they WON in a dramatic, exciting game (against a strong team that beat them 3-0 just the day before).
In the evening, because it was one of the most beautiful days we’ve had all summer, Marcel and I headed to the Forks with my sister and his brother (who happen to be married to each other) to enjoy drinks on a patio while our children all hung out together at their house.
Add all of that fun to some of the really wonderful, vulnerable, refreshing conversations I’ve been having with some people (in person and online) and it all ended up being quite a fulfilling, inspiring week after all was said and done. No, not all of the issues from my last post have been worked out, but a different perspective certainly is a good thing.
by Heather Plett | Aug 19, 2009 | Uncategorized
Some days you win, other days the most you can hope to do is try. Today, trying will have to be enough.
I’m trying…
– To not let this seriously disappointing weather get me down.
– To forgive myself for not getting much exercise while my bike sits in the garage on these wet miserable mornings.
– To have enough energy to be a good (or at least “present”) mom and wife.
– To remember that sometimes the timing isn’t right and the best thing to do is wait.
– To understand the strange dream that seemed to be trying to tell me something the other night.
– To not let this dark cloud evolve into a full-fledged depression.
– To not be jealous of all the people who are getting together for fun, creative, refreshing retreats, workshops, etc.
– To put some energy into the things I used to be passionate about (at least those things that are important at my day job).
– To not get too discouraged about some of the challenges I have at work.
– To find some time for the creative things that give me energy, like painting, writing, photography, working on my new site/business.
– To believe that some day I will have more time for the creative things that give me energy.
– To not fall into the trap of believing numbers of visitors/comments = amount of value.
– To be grateful for the compassion and understanding of friends and family.
The other day (a particularly discouraging day for a variety of reasons), I visited my son’s grave and as I stood at the grave, I made a commitment to his memory that I would continue to follow my calling despite the many things that feel discouraging right now. For you, Matthew, I will carry on.
In years to come, we’ll probably refer to the summer of 2009 as the “summer that wasn’t”. I don’t remember when we’ve had so much disappointing weather. Mostly cool and rainy… followed by more cool and rainy. I think I wore shorts twice, and when I went shopping for clothes in the middle of the summer, I bought cardigan sweaters instead of cute little summer outfits.
At least now we’ll be a little more prepared when Fall starts knocking at our door.
