Chinese Garden, Portland OR -- here was a happy day with my friend, John. We talked art and writing and ate a lot of great food
March – Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies
French café, summer, tea and chocolate
My children, watching them become themselves
Family dinner with Mom’s chicken casserole
A dog by my side, sitting
Tulips in bloom; spring has come
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy
Feeling strong after a gym workout
Making a French sentence, present tense
Brad, me, plane tickets to anywhere
I know that I’m often guilty of making life more complicated than it needs to be. In French class the other night I pressed the teacher for a logical reason why this sentence said “Tu es” and that sentence said “Es-tu.” By then the whole class knew my MO and in a chorus declared that once again I was over-thinking – “It’s just a French thing.” In other words, let’s just move on. We have bigger conjugations to fry.
So lately I’ve found myself clicking over to the website that challenges us all to distill our life stories into six well-chosen words. One of my favorite bloggers, Gretchen Rubin, encouraged her readers to find their own six words on happiness. How easy to allow little aggravations and big headaches to squeeze out the memories of contentment or joy in a day (have you seen what squirrels did to my attic this winter -- yikes). They come dressed in neon lights waving “Look At Me!” banners while the quieter comforts of life sit in a corner whispering “I’m here if you need me. Just call.”
Maybe one of my belated New Year’s resolutions should be once a week to write ten new Happiness Memoirs. What’s that Voltaire said? “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.” Many creative projects and life goals gather dust right now because I’m too busy fretting over “Tu es” and “Es-tu” or how the squirrels have deconstructed my house. I can’t submit writing because maybe I just haven’t found every possible weakness on the page. My home renovations haven’t started because next week I might find a better design for a kitchen cabinet or because it really is just too much work to choose “the best” architect for the job. I can’t appreciate the five-minute conversation with a loved one because my mind is mentally checking my day’s to-do list.
Yes, it’s definitely time to start on the next list of ten 6-word Happiness Memoirs. Probably the first should be Project started, project advancing, project completed.
French café, summer, tea and chocolate
My children, watching them become themselves
Family dinner with Mom’s chicken casserole
A dog by my side, sitting
Tulips in bloom; spring has come
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and gravy
Feeling strong after a gym workout
Making a French sentence, present tense
Brad, me, plane tickets to anywhere
I know that I’m often guilty of making life more complicated than it needs to be. In French class the other night I pressed the teacher for a logical reason why this sentence said “Tu es” and that sentence said “Es-tu.” By then the whole class knew my MO and in a chorus declared that once again I was over-thinking – “It’s just a French thing.” In other words, let’s just move on. We have bigger conjugations to fry.
So lately I’ve found myself clicking over to the website that challenges us all to distill our life stories into six well-chosen words. One of my favorite bloggers, Gretchen Rubin, encouraged her readers to find their own six words on happiness. How easy to allow little aggravations and big headaches to squeeze out the memories of contentment or joy in a day (have you seen what squirrels did to my attic this winter -- yikes). They come dressed in neon lights waving “Look At Me!” banners while the quieter comforts of life sit in a corner whispering “I’m here if you need me. Just call.”
Maybe one of my belated New Year’s resolutions should be once a week to write ten new Happiness Memoirs. What’s that Voltaire said? “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good.” Many creative projects and life goals gather dust right now because I’m too busy fretting over “Tu es” and “Es-tu” or how the squirrels have deconstructed my house. I can’t submit writing because maybe I just haven’t found every possible weakness on the page. My home renovations haven’t started because next week I might find a better design for a kitchen cabinet or because it really is just too much work to choose “the best” architect for the job. I can’t appreciate the five-minute conversation with a loved one because my mind is mentally checking my day’s to-do list.
Yes, it’s definitely time to start on the next list of ten 6-word Happiness Memoirs. Probably the first should be Project started, project advancing, project completed.
Signs of spring amid late snow -- something to be happy about
5 comments:
What about -
I made some chocolate chip cookies
It will be 70 degrees tomorrow
The dogs want to be outside
The dogs want to be inside
The dogs want to be fed
Re: your French fretting
"Tu es" = you are
"Es-tu"? = are you?
The order is reversed to make it a question. If it was confusing, then the sentence probably wasn't in a clear question form.
Found you on SheWrites, and following. This is so my kind of blog!
Hi! I found you on SheWrites. Your pictures are phenomenal and your writing style fun and easy to read. You've inspired me to find my own six words to happiness...I'll be ruminating all day. btw, I too procrastinate everything because I must analyze every best scenario. I look forward to following your future work!
Hi Julie, Because of She Writes, I feel like I already know you. Your blog seems like a peaceful oasis in the middle of the highway of life. A breath of fresh air. Love your photos. How lucky you get to travel so. The tulip in the snow, wow. Living in sunny San Diego, I don't get to see that much. Frankly, it's awe inspiring! Thanks for sharing.
Welcome, all of my new SheWrites friends. I'm looking forward to reading your work as well. A writing life is more fun when it's shared, n'est pas?
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