It’s Thursday, so I will start this post with a #TBT story.
I kept working as long as I could before going out on maternity leave when I had my daughter in 2010. I did the same when I had my son almost seven years later. During both pregnancies, I felt good and I didn’t feel that I needed the extra time beforehand to relax or get organized for a new baby. I felt that I was as prepared as I could be. I also didn’t want to wait around folding baby laundry until the roller coaster of the most intense physical pain and crazy hormonal time of my life would begin. I really like my job and even back then, as super pregnant as I was, I didn’t mind passing the time by going to work.
The two weeks leading up to my son’s birth were filled with loving baby showers, barre classes (to gear up my pelvic floor and hips), gradebooks, sub plans, and quality time with my daughter before she would become a big sister. Therefore, the piles formed. A pile of baby clothes needed to be de-tagged and washed. A pile of 4th grade persuasive writing needed to be graded. A pile of thank you cards were only half-finished, and the greeting cards that accompanied the gifts were too cute to recycle at the moment. I built very neat and organized stacks that acted as a concrete to do list. They were all ready to be put away or sent away to their designated spaces in an orderly fashion should something eventful happen.
*Insert newborn baby photo of son here* (Just visualize how terribly cute he looks, all fresh and new, and terrified of the world outside the womb)
He arrived, and nothing else mattered but us. The piles got pushed away and sent away and replaced with new piles. More important things were happening, like trying to keep him nourished and alive, as well as take care of myself and the other two members of the family.
I still do not know how I survived the early weeks of newborn mode with either of my children, but I know that I did, and I wouldn’t have traded those times for anything. I miss those days. Nowadays, I push myself to stay in the moment, especially knowing how fast they’re both growing up, but I give myself permission to want those early days back again, only for a little bit, to remember how we all got through it together and progressed to where we are now.
Some things remained hidden and stagnant, however. Those sneaky little piles. I found one the other day. It was tucked away in the corner of a filing cabinet drawer. This pile was formed about 17.5 months ago. It contained greeting cards, thank you cards, two old library cards, and $48.00 in cash. What in the world?! Jackpot. I can add this to the 51 cents I found in my bag-bin thingy from a few posts ago.
I started this blog as a way to organize my thoughts, simplify my life, and learn whatever I can along the way. It seems that the same teaching point keeps coming up: STOP MAKING PILES OF THINGS THAT I WILL GET TO “LATER”! I will literally lose money if I keep piling. Did I mention that I also found a water bill that is past due? No worries, I paid it. I came up even during this little purging adventure. Time to start shifting my habits.
Until then,
Acknowledgment: Important paperwork and money are easily lost in a piles. Take care of it immediately.
Goal for the future: See bold print (yelling text) above.
Now: It’s time for a big glass of water. Simultaneous coffee is also great.
Until Jenn 
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