Last weekend my friend texted me: "Instead of a sign that says: 'Do not disturb' I need one that says 'Already disturbed, proceed with caution.'" Going by the updates I read from ILites here and from my friends, it seems like January was a tough month for many. I sincerely hope February brings some relief and lighter days to all. Let’s try to remember: "Never bear more than one trouble at a time. Some people bear three kinds --- all they have had, all they have now, and all they expect to have." -- Edward Everett Hale Happy February, folks. I hope you find the hope, courage and wisdom that we need to navigate any tough phase in life. There is no place like IL to bump into posts that help you when you need it the most. Please bring such posts to FP so that many more will notice and read the post. . .
@Rihana - Happy February! It’s the month of Valentine’s. I celebrate yearly. Valentine’s is a perfect date, bang in the middle of the month. I hope everyone has a good month and rest of the year. Coming here has helped me immensely last month and I’m sure everyone echoes that sentiment. Discipline is something I sorely lack. I’ve told myself umpteen times to start the 75 days challenge but given up before starting because of my lofty goals. @Srama has posted an excellent post of how to make something a habit right here in the 75 days challenge thread - https://indusladies.com/community/threads/the-‘75-hard’-challenge.313869/page-41#post-4234271 . She has delved into the subject with a lot of details. Showing up is important and picking attainable goals to make this lifestyle change is key. Notice she says it is to allow yourself to feel accomplished in the first 75 days. It is important to note that the 75 day challenge is an attempt to inculcate a life long habit. It’s important to not stop right after the 75 days are done and dusted. I’d love to nominate this informative post for FP!
@Rihana - I was offering a sick friend some help with food today. I told her Sometimes, we don’t give ourselves enough credit! My friend pointed it out to me. I’m sure a lot of us here identify with the above. We are doing a lot around the house. I still have to remind myself that I don’t need to fill every hour of my day with a chore to feel like I’m accomplishing things. I can relax and read a book like any SAHM! Just getting to this mindset will be a major accomplished. Anika has come to this juncture already. She’s content with what she does and sees fulfillment in the same. @anika987 always posts thought proving multi page running threads. I’d like to nominate her for FP for this post Can Anyone Relate Or Try To Empathize?. Anika, a lot of us can identify with feeling this contentment. I’m actually envious of your lifestyle. Right now, I’m just getting used to suddenly having these morning hours to myself and am hoping I don’t jinx it all by mentioning it to people. Keep living your life and of course, blog for us. We love hearing from you and all the comments you generate on here.
Thank you Laks. A great choice for February's first nomination! Response by @Srama in The ‘75 Hard’ Challenge A big thank you to Srama for taking the time to compile such an informative post. It has just the details that will help others get started or get over a temporary roadblock. It answers so many questions that members might have in mind but not sure how to ask. The post has take-away's that will benefit readers hoping to build any kind of habit. For me personally, thanks to Srama's posts, I have realized that getting "my" to-do's done in the first 1-2 hours of the day is key. Not aiming for Srama's 4:30 or 5 am wake-up, I simply can't . Now I even avoid booking flights that are too early... but most days in the past month, I have managed to be ready and done with breakfast before sunrise. I then sit and watch it for 20 minutes, clouds or no clouds. This other post by Srama in the same thread is also a good read.
Another post that will help many readers, Laks. Thank you. Post by @anika987: Can Anyone Relate Or Try To Empathize? On casual reading, the post might seem like yet another one about homemakers and how they are judged for their choice. It's not. I found that Anika has a specific message: Do not ask the dreaded "What do you do at home all day?" question. I absolutely loved reading Anika's description of her day and how she is content with what she does. She has also done well in explaining why people should try to avoid asking homemakers 'what do you do all day?' After reading Anika's threads, it is my opinion that she should stop posting forwards in Interesting Shares. She writes much better than any of those. It is not easy to write on topics like homemaker / working women and not offend anyone.
You guys!! @Laks09 and @Rihana , you make me so much loved - especially in this month of love! Thank you so much @Laks09 for the nomination and your words. Trust me if I say I continue to struggle with discipline, especially when it comes to yoga! That said, I am glad I can exercise that discipline in a couple of years, rest all I am more like " I do better last minute" @Rihana, I am super glad you are carving out sometime for yourself first thing in the morning. Such an important habit that we all overlook. Ask any woman and she says she starts off with kitchen - coffee, breakfast, pack lunch etc. Not that they are not important you know. I used get teased a lot by my friends that I would eat first before I fuss around my kids - my focus has always been "What is it I should do so that I am present 100% for my loved ones". Simple things like half hour work out, a cup of coffee taken peacefully or a meal eaten when the kids were asleep made me feel better and I managed to be present for the family! Despite all that we go through, we need to learn to arrange our life in such a way that we make it a little easy for ourselves - definitly something I learnt from my grand mother! Thank you both for such lovely words of encouragement.
Rihana, Back before I joined IL, I was a silent reader for a couple of years at least. I remember vividly this thread by a popular poster back then. It was about sexual abuse of children. I was a very young mom back then and I was so confused about the posts and the follow up. I realized, as DD started growing up and going to school etc what the author really meant. Our hearts walk outside the house and until they came home, we had no way of protecting them. I have always worked for transparency with my then young child because of the awareness generated here. @Metamorphic has asked some very hard hitting questions in her post Sexual Harassment - A Life Ended . Why? I’ve thought about this so hard. Why do children keep things to themselves. Even with all the tactics I’ve used in parenting, I’ve had instances where I wasn’t aware of something going on with her. I would like to nominate metamorphic post for FP. I hope the neighbors never had to go through this, Meramorphic. It’s cruel for a child to be taken away. To be gone this way is soul crushing. Ever since I read your post, I have been thinking about the parents and the guilt they are bound to carry to their graves. I had to take a break and come back to post here. Your post and questions, hard hitting as they are, are all very relevant to the times.