Chore Chart, Line 4

I could start this entry with all sorts of cheesy song lines about sunshine. Tempting.

I should admit that I'm a "night owl" by nature, inclined to go with the idea that "if God had wanted us to see the sunrise, He would have scheduled it later in the day." My alarm clock (and others) have made sure I've arisen & seen the sun, but it's slow going, although I have seen my share of beautiful sunrises. These occur when I'm on vacation/camping or when I would, as an Auburn poetry professor once described it, "approach dawn softly from the other side." (I don't know if Rod T Smith was quoting himself or someone else, but I detect a sympathy with the idea of an all-nighter.)

I also sunburn easily and overheat easily in the direct sun.

Which is why this doesn't say "Get the Daily Recommended Amount of Sunlight for Adequate Vitamin D Production."

I know from news articles & personal experience that a daily dose of some sunshine makes me feel happier & more optimistic... if it's not burning up outside. Fresh air is a good pick-me-up... when it's not pollen season... ... which is almost everyday in the South. (Or mold season or dust season or air too cold to breathe season.)

Which is why I'm more likely to stay inside like an environmentally controlled mushroom. It's safer. There's no bird song or flowers or surprise breezes, but it is predictable. No dressing for it. Don't have to worry about one of the kids getting hurt, either. I'm lazy.

Yet, outside is magical. We discovered all sorts of red caterpillars on the passion flower vine on the back fence. Turns out they are Gulf Fritillary Butterflies, which are a vibrant orange, thin-winged species that feeds exclusively on the passion flower vines. We saw eggs, caterpillars of all sizes, a chrysalis and butterflies. Wow! Our own butterfly habitat! We've found box turtles patrolling the back yard, hummingbirds enjoying the blackberry lilies in the front yard. My kids are as avid of acorn & leaf collectors as any squirrel. My son's inquiry of "what's this" with the display of a "mini watermelon" led me to learn about the "Guadeloupe Cucumber," and it's controversy "yes, it's toxic, because if you eat enough, it's a powerful laxative," versus "no, they taste good, just eat the green ones." (The outside is magic; the Internet is interesting.)

Who am I kidding? I love the out-of-doors! I pick up lizards, chase frogs, want to catch a snake. I know which weeds are more approved as wildflowers. I can "chee" like a cheesed off squirrel. I think picking blackberries in the middle of a bramble is fun. I attract less than my fair-share of blood suckers, and I don't seem to be readily reactive to poison ivy. As I said, I'm just lazy. And worried. Even backyards and walks down the block aren't as safe as they once seemed to be. Just as I am denying myself joy because of my concerns & selfishness, I'm denying my little ones, too. So I'm doing this in little steps, returning to the world. It's missed me.

Chore Chart, Line 3

Exercise should be on everyone's Chore Chart. The benefits are obvious: flexibility, strength, endurance, better circulation, better respiration, increased metabolism, increased endorphins, and on and on.

Not so easy when I was born without an athletic bone in my body. It's not a habit I developed when I was young. I was always chosen last for teams, was the right-fielder's substitute's substitute and was a horrible failure at The President's Physical Fitness Test. So why should I even try?

But. I like to move & be active. I've liked dancing since I was an itty-bitty. Even though I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 8, once I "got it," I don't think I got off of it until I went to college. I can walk nearly 4 mph if I'm "in shape," which isn't bad for someone with flat feet. Then there were the eight years of marching band; high stepping while using all of your good breath for something other breathing is a workout.

When did I get off track? Dropping out of marching band in college to concentrate on partying. Stopping riding my bike in Alabama (it's not a very bike-friendly state like Tennessee & Illinois.) Making more time for more sitting & playing "stupid computer games" instead of walking & enjoying the wonderful world God gave us. Complaining that it's "too" hot/cold/wet instead of adapting. Having sedentary but mentally tiring "desk" jobs, or having physically repetitive but mindless service industry jobs. Claiming tired.... busy.... unprepared.....

I am now fat. And out of shape. If I weren't keeping up with two kids, and genetically inclined to handle extra weight, I'd be a real mess.

I am working towards doing what I enjoy. We only live a half mile from my son's school and less than a mile from our church, so I walk the boy to school in the mornings now. I continue on to the church on the days my daughter goes to MMO. Then I walk back home. When we finally see cooler temps in the next few months, we'll walk home from school & MMO, too. I'd like to add a trip down the greenway to my non-MMO days. We live next to a wonderful greenway that runs behind our house all the way down to the Tennessee River, and Huntsville, Madison & the County are working to make more greenways and designated bike routes. When I get one of my bikes fixed, I'll start biking again, too, if I can coordinate the kids & his future biking with my husband. (The worst part will be getting my bike-butt back.) These are easy & free things I can do. I could also make exercise a more social activity if we were to join the local YMCA; we're still looking at our budget for that one.

Truthfully, I feel better when I get moving. I feel happier. I get the extra pounds off. What it is the shoe company said? "Just Do It."

Chore Chart, Line 2

I am a crafter by nature, coming from a long line of DYIers. My mom does arts & crafts as did her mom, while her dad was a house builder. My dad is a DYI-guy with a fair amount of kludger/plugger with Army ingenuity; his mom was always sewing or crocheting something for the church bazaar and his father, although a mining engineer, ran a bakery with his brothers during The Great Depression. We are always fixing things instead of just throwing them out & getting new. One of the first Girl Scout badges I earned required being able to sew on a button and use a sewing machine, something both of my parents worked with me on. If given a craft kit and a toy, I completed the craft kit first. Some of my favorite books as a child were "The Borrowers" series and Laura Ingalls Wilder's books; I was just amazed at their resourcefulness in reusing objects. (Which is why I had that dresser drawer full of junk anyways.)

It's no surprise that I have a pile of "projects" waiting for my attention. With two kids who play hard and are the glad recipients of hand-me downs, there's always a button or tear. They also have books that need taping, snugglies that need stitching and toys that need gluing. Our chairs and cabinets pop screws and nails. Nicknacks take dings, jewelry gets kid-handled.

There's much, much more that needs cobbling together then there was before kids. It's harder to get around to doing the repairs as well, since kids don't interact well with needles.... or Super Glue. It does pile up, as do the things I have on hand to make some more creative repairs.

Again, doing this is to cut down on clutter and whittle away at my procrastination. I'm also very proud or my abilities. I do good work. I've made a rolling laundry hamper out of an old round medical stand (it has great metal caster action that they just don't manufacture any more), "hotel-style" shower curtain rings, large grommets & a muslin canvas drop-cloth. I just stitched up the holes in the bottom of my son's old Iron Man backpack so my daughter can carry it, and you wouldn't know that the backpack didn't come as it is now configured. (Hey, it's shiny & it's a backpack like brother's. She wanted it for MMO and I wanted to save money.)

I like fixing things. But I like fixing them well, which means slowing down, making the space and making the time. Slowing down, making space, taking time, feeling good about a job well-done... aren't these the sorts of thing you find in self-help books. Getting that pile done, one or two things at a time, is working. Some things I can do while waiting for my "stupid computer games" to load. Other things take just a few moments, or are portable for when I have to sit around somewhere. So I can do this, and get my smiley star.

And if I ever get current with my fix-it pile, I can always change the line to "Work on a Craft"; I have a few crochet projects I've started but not finished and a sweater I'd like to knit!