5 Reflections on the last 5 months
Do you ever sit down and reflect on where you’ve been or where you’re going? I know it’s one of those things that can be hard to do when life is happening…..at full speed…..and dive-bombing situations are coming at you. I get it!
But sometimes we just need to breathe. I’ve been reading Jay Shetty’s Think Like a Monk and he talks about how monks are trained to watch their breath. It’s one of the few things you have control over. Getting anxious? Watch your breath. It will increase. Be intentional about breathing calmly. Easier said than done sometimes, but a point nonetheless.
These last 5 months have brought fun, gratitude, frustration, and heartache. Isn’t having both positive and negative experiences what life is all about? And using the negatives as learning experiences? Not failures. Not ‘I’ll never get there’. Just learning experiences.
As I reflect on the past 5 months, make it point to spend just 5 minutes reflecting on your last few months too. The ups. The downs. The good. The bad. The ugly. And everything in between.
Reflection #1 – Dementia
The first of these 5 months started with a trip to the hospital for my mom. During the pandemic, dementia continued to hook its grubby little claws into my mom. She began hallucinating all day and half the night. She was hearing things. Smelling things. Seeing things. None of which were there or actually happening, but they were definitely happening in her dementia-filled world.
Learning to navigate any health condition is a challenge. Watching a person you respect, admire, and look up to slowly disappear and become the complete opposite type of person she once was is no little challenge.
So my first reflection is that I’m learning to navigate this new world of dementia. How I have to meet my mom where she’s at. Enter HER world. Don’t force things. And don’t make her try to remember — she can’t and will try to hide that she can’t.
I don’t wish dementia on anyone. And you could say that about a lot of different diseases and health conditions. But I can definitely put dementia at the top of MY list. You lose the person you love…..right in front of you. There seems to be so very little to chalk up to a learning experience. What does one get out of watching someone slowly fade away into dementia? Well, I’m learning. And my reflection list would not be complete if I didn’t mention dealing with mom’s dementia. It’s part of our lives now, and it’s hard on everyone, including her.
Reflection #2 – Utah
A few months ago my husband and I took a trip to Utah. Friends of ours were doing a 1-year sabbatical traveling out West with their son in a pickup truck and 5th wheel. They had left almost 9 months prior and were coming to the end of their trip of a lifetime.
Because we get along with them so well, they wanted us to experience what it was like to live in a 5th wheel and experience some of the West. Well, sign me right up for that!
We spent a week with them in St George Utah. We hiked a lot, shopped a little, and pushed personal boundaries during our hiking. Going to heights we’d never been to before. And hiking strenuous routes we never envisioned ourselves succeeding at.
Not to mention taking in all of the breathtaking scenery. I still shake my head at how magnificent Utah was. The red dirt, the red mountains, contrasted against the bright blue skies. Mesmerizing. We visited Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Kannarra Falls, and a few others. The memories of that trip will last a lifetime.
Reflection #3 – Mindset
Over the last few months I’ve also evolved my mindset. Especially about my blogging work. But this could be any aspect of your life.
I’ve invested in a community of other women who have many of the same blog goals as I do. Many of them are further ahead than me. And so I glean their insights and watch for the potential pitfalls they warn about.
I finally found a place where I feel welcome. People who “get” what I’m trying to do. People who are supportive and encouraging. I’ve learned that I have to keep the messages of this group in my head. I’ve accepted the philosophy that failure really should be pursued, not so much for the failure itself, but for the lessons learned from it.
Don’t get me wrong. I haven’t quite learned how to go out of my way to fail at something, but I’m learning to let go of my perfectionist tendencies. You’d think something like surviving breast cancer, or watching mom go through dementia would slap the mortality question in my face. And to some degree those things did.
So I must have been ready. Ready for a new approach to life. Ready to take ownership of my life in a way I haven’t done before. And this group has really shifted my mindset and for that I am very grateful.
Reflection #4 – Hilton Head Island
My husband and I had been fortunate to be able to work remotely during the pandemic. We were able to work from home and maintain much of our scheduled day. During much of the pandemic so much was closed or limited access. Like everyone else, we didn’t do a whole lot, especially in the first several months.
But as the vaccines came out and states began opening up more my husband and I decided to go on a “working vacation”. We packed up our work laptops and went to Hilton Head Island for two whole weeks. I don’t think I’ve ever gone somewhere for more than 7-10 days so 2 weeks was huge.
We worked our regular day job schedules during the week, but “vacationed” during our lunch breaks, in the evenings, and on the weekends.
And I am so very glad we did it. I would do it again and would recommend it to anyone who is in a position to do it.
It gave us a taste of vacation, without using all of the vacation time. And that was also why we made it for 2 weeks instead of just 1. To give us more time to actually vacation knowing most of our days would be filled with work stuff.
Reflection #5 – Cicadas
Huh, you might be wondering? Let me explain. I live in the Midwest and the 17-year cicadas are back. Which means lots of cicada noise, lots of cicadas, and potential damage to trees and shrubs due to their eating habits.
The house and neighborhood we live in was built since the last cicada visit. Which means the excavating and all the things that go in to building a home and a neighborhood can disrupt the life cycle of a cicada.
But if you go into well-established neighborhoods or parks or really anywhere with a lot of trees, you’ll hear the noise of the cicadas. And now many of those cicadas have overflowed into our neighborhood.
For me it’s a reminder of summertime. Even though it doesn’t happen every year. It reminds me of growing up on the farm with all the sounds that accompanied it — grasshoppers, bullfrogs, cicadas, birds, etc.
And from what I understand cicadas are mostly harmless to humans. They don’t bite as far as I know. They just might munch on some of your trees and do a little damage to them. Unfortunately, less mature trees may not be able to withstand the torture. But from a human contact perspective, they’re relatively harmless.
But I would be remiss from including them in my list because, well, we won’t experience them again for another 17 years. Weird right?
As summer has come back around and we’re spending more time outside the drone of the cicadas is nonstop. I suppose for some it might be annoying. But for me, it’s kind of mesmerizing.
Final Thoughts on my Reflections on the last 5 months
Those are my reflections on the last 5 months. Promise me you’ll take 5 minutes and reflect on your past 5 months. And drop me a note in the comments. I’d love to hear about some of yours!
