Letting go of the old, Trying something new

Although these past few months, I have had trouble keeping up with my monthly blog posts, rest assured, I have been writing.

I’ve mentioned in previous posts the endeavor I took on last year to complete a full-length novel. I am about three-quarters of the way finished with my first draft and am shooting to have it ready for beta readers by the end of the year.

So, while I haven’t been sharing crazy stories about toddlers and all the wild things my boys are up to, I have been busy writing in other forms.

The other project I’ve been slowly working on in the background is called 30 Lost, 30 Found. It’s no secret that I have a milestone birthday coming up this fall, and between now and then, I have challenged myself to try 30 new things and let go of 30 old things.

These can be clothes, ideas, responsibilities, or even ways of thinking. For example, I have unsubscribed to several emails that no longer serve me, decluttered my kitchen, and even let go of an abundance of greeting cards that I just didn’t need to save.

The biggest thing I’m working on is letting go of my knee-jerk reaction to deflect and minimize compliments. I started noticing it when someone at work complimented my shirt, and I immediately had to make a comment, “Oh, it’s an old shirt.” Or someone may give some positive feedback on a work project, and I discount it and say, “Oh, that was easy, it didn’t take long, etc.”

I find myself doing this over and over. For some reason, it’s difficult to just say “Thank you” and move on.

In the new things column, I have been struggling. Outside of a few work things I’ve taken on and a different cleaning routine, I don’t have a lot of new experiences. I am looking forward to my first international vacation in a few months, so I’m hoping to get a few things checked off then.

With all this and mothering, I have been plenty busy and just a little tuckered out. But since I cannot write a post without some toddlerisms: My morning commute included a rousing rendition of “Jesus Loves Me” by my 2-year-old.

It was every bit as adorable as it sounds.