How are you?!?!
Me....well to be perfectly honest with you....i've been feeling a little blue lately. A little uninspired. A little lost.
I can tell you this doesn't happen often to me....I am usually a chipper, happy go-lucky, have so many ideas my brain hurts kind of person.
But lately....the weather has just been putrid. Grey skies day after day after day...
Being a blue skies and sunshine kind of girl...this is just really getting to me.
Plus...
I don't know why it's hitting me so hard this year....but there is just so much sadness with many of the kids I teach at school.
Sometimes it's just hard to see day after day children that are tired, hungry and just don't always have the kind of love I think they are worthy of.
and there is a lot of sadness with many of the staff I work with....one in particular is dealing with the hard and sad decision of putting her mother into a nursing home. Tears occur on a daily basis. It just breaks my heart.
I am trying to figure out where to put all of this for myself....so that I can get back to being my happy chipper self. But it's hard.
I just want the world to be happy....but I realize life is just not fair. And for many people....it's really hard.
I've experienced my hardships...without getting into specifics....my upbringing was difficult and painful at best.
I know, for me, for right now...that's why I do what I do...in a low income school....because I GET these kids. I understand the anger, distrust and hurt they feel.
What's hard...is not packing them all up and bringing them home:)
What I am realizing...is that life is difficult no matter what stage we are in.
We ALL face times of challenge.
We all go through periods of "the blues."
We all question what is this all for. ... why does there have to be sadness in the world.
But what I keep telling myself is.......
I can't change anyone's life.
Eventually these children will grow into adults and they will have choices to make about how they want to live their life....just like I did when I got old enough to do so.
Friends at work......I can't change having to make the painful decision to place someone you love in a nursing home ... but I can love them through this time and show them the skies will clear again.
Life is hard....no one ever said it would be easy.
But each day really is an opportunity to be a beautiful person...to love...to learn from one another.
To appreciate each other's experiences...
Each day is opportunity to find the beauty in the life you live.
To not be too hard on yourself.
To enjoy the day.....no matter what it throws your way....grey skies and all:)
I think the word I am learning is
Balance.
Like a teeter totter....don't get too far to one side or the other....kind of hand around in the middle so you don't fall off:)
Balance on how much you let things affect you.
Balance on sometimes you just need a mental break.
Balance on do your best and forget the rest....no on is perfect.
just balance!
Thanks for letting me share! Sometimes it's nice to get things off my chest and I appreciate you listening! I am sure we all go through similar things!
How do you handle times of "the blues" or being in a funk???
The other thing I can tell you......
eating healthy and exercise really help me through just about anything!
Oh and wine! {be sure to balance this...or you might be in real trouble:) }
Eating healthy and exercising are so very important to me!!
I just love good, healthy, made from scratch deliciousness with a lotta love {as my friend always says} on it:)
and well....you know my love affair with pizza!
pesto and pizza....well that's certainly some love!
I hope to grow some in my garden this year! Garden fresh garlic....yum-o!
I split mine up and freeze dough balls so that I can make pizza whenever I want! I seriously could eat it every single day!
I added the shrimp for a little protein punch to my carb-a-licious pizza:)
And after...ok well...before you indulge in your pizza and wine...
burn some calories so you don't feel so bad in indulging in such happiness!
and guess what!!
I did great...I started where I ended last year!! YIPPEE!
Usually it takes me awhile to build back up!
But I switched gyms about a month or two ago and have been doing their killer spin classes! Thanks to the spin classes...I am starting the season where I usually end!
The one thing I can tell you about fitness is....do what you LOVE!
You won't stick with it if you don't love it!
And I LOVE riding! I am really hoping to ride that darn century this year....only got to 76 miles last year...but this year...I am really hoping the weather is better so that I can go another 25 miles!
Working out always makes me happy!
Strong is the new skinny I say!
Speaking of working out...I better get busy and figure out my workout plan for today! I was hoping to go for a run....but of course...it's grey and raining! Maybe I should just run in the rain....might make me feel better:)
Have a super happy....lovin life....appreciating what you have and who you are....kind of weekend!
xoxo
~Heather
"Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better to take things as they come along with patience and equanimity." Carl Jung
Hi Heather, absolutely loved your post, words, ideas and love. Great wisdom and heart in your thoughts. Thank you and Happy Easter! Oh, and I get the blues too and I am a very upbeat person too. AND yes exercise and helping others help me, once I can get off the sofa! xoRobin❤
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you are in the perfect spot right now...as far as your job is concerned. You can be a shoulder, an ear, a hand and a heart...a friend. I love your example of the teeter totter.
ReplyDeleteIt has been so dreary here as well and it can tend to get me down. I love the Carl Jung quote too. It made me think...without rain we wouldn't appreciate the sunshine nearly as much. :0)
Happy weekend to you. I hope the sun peeks in a bit over your way today.
Weather here in Northern IN is a mirror image of what you described. I think the long winter and the never ending 40 degree temps (with rain) have made us all feel a touch of the blues. However, exercise for me has gone by the wayside and I am paying for it dearly now. Keep up the good work and hopefully it will inspire me to get back on my path of eating healthy and exercising regularly!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather-
ReplyDeleteYour post really hit home with me. For the past two years I have been living in limbo as my husband has been unemployed - that plus caring for aging parents and the dreary weather has affected me more than I thought it ever would. I am an upbeat person - like you and know this is just a temp time that I will work through. I know once the weather gets warm and sunny I will feel better.
Tonight in my house - Friday is always wine and pizza . Yumo-delicious. Yours looks fabulous.
I wish you lived closer so we could go on long bike rides together. Maybe someday.
My best- Diane
Heather,
ReplyDeleteThis was such a great post. I definitely have had a little down period this winter. I so agree that when the weather gets a little better it helps me. Exercise too...but I haven't been doing that lately, so...not good.
Your pizza looks soooo good. I am going to have to try this one.
Thanks!!
Happy Easter
xo
Ashlyn
Oh Heather...your posts feel like they were written just for me! This time of year when the dreary weather hangs on takes its toll on me also. It never fails! Some years it is worse than others, but it always has an effect. The weather along with spending time in a negetive or emotionally charged environment can definately impact a person. It is great to see that you have healthy tools to help balance it all by good food, exercise and creativity. Hope you have a fantastic weekend with sunny skies and warm weather!
ReplyDeleteWhenever I start to feel like I'm in a funk I try to think of all the the things I am thankful for in my life. And particularly, like you when I think about some of my students, I try to remember that I can be that happy light in their day for about six hours, and hopefully that happy light shines a little once they get home too before they have to deal with their hardships. It's not always easy though. Thanks for sharing and congrats on your ride! Bring on the sunshine :)
ReplyDeleteFunny you should talk about such things today. This morning on the news one of their background songs was one I haven't heard for many years. It actually started out as a coke commercial in the early 70s and was so popular, the group turned it into in a single, changing the reference to coke. It's been running through my head all morning, so I had to go find the rest of the lyrics before it drove me crazy.
ReplyDeleteHere goes in my best voice:
1st stanza:
I'd like to build the world a home
And furnish it with love
Grow apple trees and honey bees
And snow-white turtle doves
Chorus:
I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I'd like to hold it in my arms
And keep it company
I'd like to see the world for once
All standing hand in hand
And hear them echo through the hills
For peace throughout the land
That's the song I hear
Let the world sing today
A song of peace that echoes on
And never goes away
2nd stanza:
Put your hand in my hand
Let's begin today
Put your hand in my hand
Help me find a way
Okay end of song, sorry I can't carry a tune, but I hope the sun shines in your heart even when the skies are gray.
A very beautiful post! I've always said that being a creative person means you are sensitive. And sometimes that is too much! But then we get busy with creative things and feel better! Diet and exercise are key...and pizza and wine of course! I hope you have a wonderful weekend! ♥
ReplyDeleteHi Heather, your post really shows what a compassionate person you are. I 'm wishing you much sunshine this Easter. While you can't help everyone, you are helping the ones you can. If you can even influence a child for 5 minutes a day, much is to be gained. On to the happier part-love the recipes and meals. We are having shrimp today, but not on pizza. Many hugs to you,
ReplyDeleteLove pesto, love it on pizza and bread and in bean soup. Can't wait until my basil starts growing again. Still mostly dark skies here, sigh. But you sure are right about the power of comfort foods! And by the way, you look freaking fabulous, missy.
ReplyDeleteLoved your post. So sad to see children that are suffering. What a wonderful teacher you must be to understand where they are coming from. What great endorphins you get from your bike riding! And you look so cute doing it, too! I hope your skyes clear up soon, imagine all the plants just soaking up all that rain :) Your pizza looks scrumptious!
ReplyDelete~Shanon
Hi Heather,
ReplyDeleteI remember having those days when it was all grey and it seemed like the snow would never melt. To tell you the truth I still have those days. You are right life is hard and it gets so tiring. I am so over this recession and bad news after bad news. But you are right, you just have to keep moving. i know you've heard it a million times but you are truly an inspiration. I think I might take up cycling now that I live in a more bike friendly area. thanks for all you do for us. xx BTW I did a fresh friday last week, not sure if you saw it :)
Hey Heather.....I am SOOOO with you on so many levels with your post today. I've been feeling tired, lazy, uninspired, and tired of looking out and seeing cold, rainy days outside my windows. Ugh. I've been trying to lift my spirits by bringing more a more springtime feel into my decor, and just moving things around in here.
ReplyDeleteI also understand completely about those special kids at school. Hubby and I worked for a high school (him-31yrs; me-21yrs)and we grew to love so many of those kids like they were our own. Lots of those kids came from a tough home life and they just needed a few more hugs than the other kids did. All you've got to do is be YOU. They love you for who you are and how you accept them. ♥
Thanks for the wonderful recipe for pizza, too! We LUV our pizza! We had some tonight! :)
Have a blessed Easter, my friend - and we'll just keep praying for more sunshine in the coming days, ok?
xoxo laurie
I know the stresses of life can really bring me down too. And when there is a lull and things are bright and sunny I worry and wonder how long with it last? When will the next stresser occur? When I get in a funk and feeling uninspired I have to just realize that it will pass. My moods can sometimes swing quite quickly, perimenopause and all, but I know that it is temporary. You a have a caring heart. All you can do is be there for your friends and for the kids at school. Hope you see sunny skies soon! Hugs :)
ReplyDeleteYou have the right attitude Heather...Yep...everybody has these times. It is what makes the better times sooo appreciated. It is not the stress or stressors...but how YOU deal with them.
ReplyDeleteand yummy pizza and bike riding is a perfect way. I know my saddest, hardest times is when I immerse myself in helping others. Works every time!
I want to warn you to make sure you only use ITALIAN pine nuts. The chinese ones are shorter and pointier and they can cause this bizarre reaction that makes everything you eat taste TERRIBLE. It lasts for 3 days to weeks. Horrible stuff. (ask how I know) http://pinenutsyndrome.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteJust puttin' it out there for anybody who has a bad reaction and can't figure out why.
Hi there Heather. I am just so taken with your post, I cant tell you... I am exactly the same; grey skies really bring me down.. and I am usually such a happy, chipper person. And the things you said about balance... well, you know, I am a huuuuge believer in that. Life is tough... It has been tough for the people around me.. and tough for me (especially when my son passed.. I never thought it would happen to me, but I just cannot imagine what kind of person i would be had my life turned out any other way - although, would much prefer to have him back even if it meant i was the nastiest most horrible person on earth! lol!!) But gee.. life really has a way of turning itself upside down on you! I feel for you cause I have days just like you.. they are hard, but a lot of the time i just make sure i get all i need to do done, then have an early night and usually things are better the next morning!!! And i suppose balance is having a few bad days to balance out all the beautiful ones! And me... well, if every day that i spent with my son had to balance with a bad day... they were just perfect and the happiest days of my life, i will have to have quite a few bad ones to even the scales!!! Oh, sorry for rambling!... hope that wasnt a bit too much! but, i do hope tomorrow is a happy, blue sky kind of day! Hugs to you! Laura xx
ReplyDeleteBless your heart, Heather. I empathize completely with how you feel lately...been there, done that. Life really is a teeter totter and I've learned that my attitude affects how things work out. Keeping upbeat (as much as possible) & staying positive really make a difference. I wish you and your family a wonderful Easter!
ReplyDeleteHugs, Marie
This is such a beautiful post Heather, thank you. I love your attitude. Balance is such a key that I cannot seem to find lately but I keep on keeping on. :)
ReplyDeleteYour attitude shines on to the next person and hopefully lifts them up as well.
I hope you had a wonderful weekend and Happy Easter. :)
I have so missed your blog Heather. You are a breath of fresh air. The honesty in your posts makes me walk away always feeling like I am okay, like we are all in this together and that we all really do have so much in common.
ReplyDeleteYour desire for balance is always so encouraging! You are an amazing person.
Ride on, little Heather!!! Thanks for the stream-of-consciousness chat...always so fun to hear you talk. As you say, exercise is the key to feeling better, energized. Walking in the moonlight is my favorite thing to do...walk and walk and walk, talk to myself or the moon if I like, no one is there :)
ReplyDeleteI could have written this post myself (minus the recipes!) and almost did on Saturday. Sorry to read that you're feeling this way. I really think a lot of it was weather induced for me too. The sun is finally shining and my spirits are starting to lift. You and I probably have a similar background/childhood but I always say that the struggle taught me to appreciate everything that I have now. To this day, I think it's why I'm creative, love decorating my home, etc. Art was my outlet and I was always looking for a solution or imagining a prettier world. Do you ever feel that way? You have a great outlook and we totally understand. Everyone gets a little uninspired & down sometimes. Happy to read (in your giveaway post) that you've found the sunshine, sweetie!
ReplyDeletexoxo,
Jami
Darkness really lowers our mood. Light is super important to our health. It's normal for you to feel this way. I like that you eat really healthy. That helps you deal with the darkness. You being active also helps. I just hope you realize that this is a temporary seasonal thing.
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