The Plan
School holidays start next week <big, deep, breath>…
I’ve decided that if I am to enjoy (or even “survive”) the two weeks, I need a new attitude.
After all, this is the reason that I chose this life – to spend more time with the Munchkin, before and after school AND during the school holidays. To be compatible with running a business, something like this needs planning.
There is a list of projects to do around the house a mile long… the new veggie garden needs work, we have our dirt restaurant to set up (in true Munchkin style, he was not content with just a dirt kitchen), the fairy garden needs some landscaping and we have more painting to do than you can imagine… more than I can imagine!
Plus, we need to keep him (and me) socially active, so there are play dates and excursions in the calendar. There might be a few more toyshops on our list to visit. And Mum, bless her, is ensuring I get one uninterrupted workday a week.
So, what has all this got to do with Journal Journeys?
Well, I’ve decided that this is a good time to put into practice some of my journal suggestions and ideas. Too much of my life is lived in fast forward, and I usually miss out on recording the little moments of each day.
There are good reasons for this – 90% of what comes out of the Munchkin’s mouth is hilarious or incredible or both, and half his day is filled with antics (the other half is spent declaring that he is bored). I could spend all my time just recording, and not be in the moment enough to enjoy it – rather like a Japanese tourist stereotype – and that would be a shame. PLUS I’d never get anything done.
So here’s the plan:
1. A Photo a Day
Time to get that camera dusted off and shoot (at least) one photo a day that captures something special about the mood or events of the day. I’ll pop it up on our Facebook page. For inspiration, here’s my lovely friend Rebecca’s guest post about her Photo a Day project.
2. Tiny Moments
I was so inspired by this post “Watching” on my favourite blog, Life in a Pink Fibro last week, that I want to give this a go. So each evening, I’m going to write a short post about one tiny moment from that day and pop it on my blog.
3. Record the Projects
I’m going to attempt to record the Before, the During, the After… For more of an explanation, see my post Before and After.
Hmmm… a little bit of LIVING the Leaf Life for a change.
Sounds like a plan!
All will continue as normal this week, with The Story Starter Challenge on Wednesday and our Friday Finds special Party post on um…Friday. Then there’ll be two weeks of The Plan. Then we’ll see what happens!
Week 1 Update (Friday 30 September)
So far, The Plan has been going REALLY well. I’m far more relaxed, and I’m noticing things more… I’ve worked out a way to keep an instant reminder about my Tiny Moments almost as they happen – ready to look back on later in the day for writing up. Thinking it’s well worth some more effort…
Week 1 – Photos of the Day
Week 1 – Tiny Moments
Sunday – Blue Paint, Pink Elephants and Forgotten Cows
Monday – Dragon Stew
Tuesday – A Little Bird
Wednesday – A Nice Little Patch of Goodness
Thursday – The Craft Activity
Friday – Snuggles
Week 2+ Update (Monday 10 October)
It occurred to me some time during this week that I had finally found a way to “save time in a bottle”. There have been many periods during the Munchkin’s life when I have wished I could “bottle him” – being the funny, charming, enjoyable character he may be at the time – to store those memories away for a future time when he is less so… Tiny Moments did that for me. I think I may have stumbled upon MY journal method – taking one precious tidbit per day and recording it for posterity. Most days we had several. Choosing just one means I miss “bottling” the others, but it makes it simple enough for me to continue with.
I probably won’t continue to “blog” these Tiny Moments on an ongoing basis (this is really not the right forum). But as I need to build a habit, I will continue the practice for the time being, under a new guise – My Happy Place – a 30-Day Challenge put forward by Nathalie from Easy Peasy Kids.
Other posts will continue as normal, starting with Friday Finds this Friday 14 October. Stay tuned.
Week 2 – Photos of the Day
Week 2 – Tiny Moments
Monday – War Wounds
Tuesday – The Artist
Wednesday – Pantomime
Thursday – The Play Date
Friday – In Mourning – my little tribute to Steve Jobs
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MelGardener says:
September 19, 2011 at 3:45 pm
What a fabulous idea! I, too, am contemplating how to handle the upcoming school holidays + work time. I don’t know if I’ll have time to do all three of your suggestions but I’m loving the “photo a day” plan – will give it a go.
Thanks.
Jennie Lamond says:
September 19, 2011 at 4:13 pm
A lovely inspirational idea. I feel inspired by both you and the weather today. I went for a walk this morning, just to enjoy the beauty of the day, plus my ‘Cheeky boy’ just needs more in life, so after dropping the bigboy at kinder, off we went. Before I knew it I was seeing some delight in the eyes of my ‘bored of the house’ cheeky boy, who is now climbing the couch regularly and threatening to plummit off the back until I panic and then he smiles, and ‘Sneaky boy’ (his twin brother) as well, who would just let the world pass him by, so I know he needs inspiring regularly.
I have been trying NOT to think of the holidays, though fortunately I will be joined by hubby in the mayhem for the second week. For the first week I get the combination of a bored bigboy, who can on some occasions get a little freaked out just leaving the house, my cheeky boy, who is anxious to see touch and taste EVERYTHING in the world, and Sneaky boy, who will just go with the flow, but interrupt everything Cheeky does because it all looks so fun. My plan is to survive. A photo a day sounds like a lovely goal. Maybe I can try to capture mayhem in a still shot one of these days, just to look back on and laugh.
. I look forward to catching your words in between little boy antics.
Cath says:
September 21, 2011 at 11:08 pm
We’ll have to see how we go getting all three done. Could be a challenge!
I look forward to seeing your attempts at the “Photo a Day” challenge. (Hint: Instagram or Hipstamatic makes EVERYTHING looks good, even the lousiest of shots!)
Happy holidays ladies!
Kelly exeter says:
September 30, 2011 at 11:13 pm
Love it Cath! My buddy and I are heading towards Brunswick st for a browse and some good coffee around half 10 tomorrow if there is the remote possibility of a catch up!