The really, really little things.

I continue to battle the winter doldrums. I have found some things that are working for me and I am grateful for that. There are also tiny little joys that I am clinging to tightly in an effort to bring little snaps of happiness and comfort to my currently monotonous days.

I have been bringing flowers home. Yes, me. Don’t be harsh on Dennis. He is more the ‘brought home a paycheck’, ‘got you new tires’, and ‘here’s some cash for coffee’ kind of romantic. It’s all good. Someone smart and deliriously happy suggested I get an orchid because they are beautiful and tropical. Who am I to argue when the universe brings a message to me through Facebook?

I am enjoying complicated, labor-intensive baking. This carrot cake required carrot grating and sifting of ingredients. I made a lemon curd layer cake (that I forgot to photograph) that required zesting,  juicing, whipping egg whites, and a double boiler. Several of my recent cakes have come out of Cake Ladies and they have turned out bakery-worthy. Try some of them. When I am doing this kind of baking I cannot think about my to-do list or personal problems. Ah, a mental break that ends in sweet treats!

I’ve left up the white lights we used to decorate for New Year’s Eve. They’re just so damn festive.

I hung cheap, little ‘crystals’ I bought at the craft store in my front windows. They randomly cast small, streaky rainbows on furniture and walls. I find it glorious. Really. Little. Things.

I’m buying dreamy cleaning products. Yes, I am able to attach the word ‘dreamy’ to cleaning products. I find that wiping, washing, and organizing assuage my anxiety. Good stuff.

I enjoy burning candles and incense. I love the warm, woody, sacred feeling they give to my house.

The Making of The Bed Meditation.

I have not always espoused the value of bed making. But several things have caused me to rethink my stance on it. Apparently, yes, you can have a stance on bed making.

First, I have returned to Flylady.net and the SHE websites because I have been distracted and attention-challenged lately. Routines and tools from both sites are proving valuable to me right now. In the past, they have been life-savers. Flylady presents a good case for making your bed and I’m going with it.

Second, I have been reading quite a lot of Anne Lamott recently and came across this quote in Help Thanks Wow:

“When you crawl between clean sheets after a hard day, you are saved. You feel like you are the best sandwich ever. You’re being taken care of from the top and the bottom, with not a crumb or lump or a wrinkle. Wow: you can’t believe you felt so low and lonely till you thought to change the sheets.“

It resonated with me the moment I read it and prompted me to search youtube for ‘How to make a hotel bed’ and ‘the right way to make a bed’. Tiny investment, big payout.

Third, I take the amount of time it takes to make my bed to be thankful and grateful. Can making your bed change the course of your day? I’m going to find out.

Sometimes focusing on minutia for me, can straighten out some of the big things. It’s like if I put the ‘little’ in order, they ‘big’ has a chance of following suit.