Making the bed

I made my bed yesterday. I made my bed this morning too. And I'm feeling quite accomplished.

(For those of you regular bed-makers, no scoffing.)

It's just that I've never been much of a bed-maker. It's always seemed sort of pointless. You just get in the bed again later that night, right? And have to make it again the next morning. And the cycle starts all over the next day. And don't we have enough things in our lives that are never-ending (laundry? dishes? taking out the trash?)

Plus (*excuse on its way*) we've always had pets who liked to dig around and bury themselves in the covers throughout the day. Which I think is cute.

AND, if I want to encourage regular afternoon napping — which as a freelancer working from home, I can do — it's harder to justify sneaking off upstairs for a few when the bed's all put together.

But I read this interesting article on Jezebel.com yesterday by Jolie Kerr about cleaning. How to make the daily process less daunting, and how to focus on one area of your home each month so the bigger projects seem less ... big. One of the assignments was "make your bed every single day" this month. That's it. And I thought to myself, I can do that.

Tackling the pantry may feel overwhelming. Our pile of laundry right now is the size of Pikes Peak. And I just can't bring myself to deal with getting rid of all of Tai's accoutrement, so there's a big stack of cat stuff in our living room.

But I can take three minutes to fluff sheets, and tug at blankets, and tuck corners. And when I get done, I can smile and walk away, or I can look around and maybe also pick up some random socks, or sweep up dust bunnies, or take a few glasses down to the kitchen. And it all seems — it all is — more organized. And giving some priority to organization and structure and healthy daily practices is something I could probably use a little more of in my life.

I'll report back at the end of the month on how I did. In the meantime, I am curious — how many of you out there make your beds every day?

Bravery

It's been a long week. Yes, I realize it's only Wednesday. Still, it's been a long week.

That said, on Monday, I dropped by one of my favorite stores (EllyBlue) and found this chalkboard sign out front.

She who is brave is free.

When I think about the word "brave" — which interestingly, I almost picked as my Soul Mantra for 2014 — I conjure images of a Joan of Arc-type, sitting tall on a majestic horse, sword drawn, ready for whatever fight she may need to face. Of course, she also doing said action while wearing a gorgeous white flowing dress, with her hair perfectly coifed, and her lipstick a most excellent shade of rose.

(I have an active imagination sometimes.)

But being "brave" is so very rarely quite so exciting, or managed in such a quote-unquote perfect way. It more often takes the form of choosing to get out of bed in the morning in a daily fight against depression. Or in finally scheduling that doctor's appointment to figure out why a literal pain in your neck won't go away.

Or, in trying to figure out how to word a blog post just so — by releasing lifelong perfectionist habits, or I'm-not-good-enough thoughts, or anxiety about what people [shudder] will think.

All tendencies that can be self-destructive and binding.

Or in other words, not freeing.

She who is brave is free.

She who is brave is free. And it's baby steps of bravery, baby steps of "showing up" for your life each and every day, that get you to that free place. (My Soul Mantra this year actually is "show up." More on that in a future blog post.)

It's exhausting, but important, work.

And is why it's been a long week for me, just three days in. I've been tackling projects, testing my limits. Being brave. And I know my work is nowhere near done.

Which is also why I might just crawl under the bedcovers for awhile. Breathe in some good alone-time freedom. And start fresh tomorrow.