Today is my peaceful day! OMG I got a triple crown on my Oura app – readiness, sleep and activity all in the 90s! I got rid of my sleep debt (40 minutes) and woke up feeling amazing today. Only thing on my calendar is dinner with the ladies tonight. Started my day in the usual way… my games. Got wordle in 3 and started connections and got two of the four rows done and got caught up. Decided to text the ladies to confirm we were meeting at 4:45 and one of my friends texted that her dad had a medical issue in FL and that she wasn’t going to make it. We asked if she needed anything and she jokingly said “a ride to the airport” – I didn’t have any plans til 4:45 so I took her to the airport!! Got back by noon, took this photo of the sky when I drove down my street, worked on clearing more of the snow/ice off the driveway and then rested a lil with the pets. The monks made it to Washington!!! Aloka the Peace Dog joined them for all of their events in DC today. I am so proud of them and so glad that I got to experience two of their treks. I’ve practiced mindfulness for a while now, not constantly but I mean, the subtitle of my blog that I started in 2018 includes the word ‘mindful’ – I am a mindful consumer, I am a mindful eater, I am mindful of my environment – all of this just means that I make choices that are in line with my personal philosophy. Off to dinner, bye for now!
Today is my peaceful day! I love thinking that as soon as I wake up, thanks to the Walk For Peace! Think it every morning and your day is starting out peacefully! I had a great sleep score, I did wonder since I went to bed so late, but I slept 8 hours which is my personal sweet spot.
Week two of my getting back to yoga and I took Stephanie’s 9:30 class virtually and it was fantastic!! I took a couple of photos because Uli and Iris love to take yoga virtually too, in this one Uli is just watching, he loves to use anything as a pillow and chose the rolled up portion of the rug. I bought my sisters 10 virtual passes to take yoga with me for the next three months and basically chilled the rest of the day. Fed the birds since it is still a frozen tundra in our yard, fed the squirrels too since they can’t get to the ground to dig for their acorns. Packed up a big record order.
The monks walked on GW Parkway today – that is so cool, it is such a beautiful… view, I was going to say beautiful roadway but it is (or at least it was when I was commuting to DC) a little pot-holey. They walked from Alexandria to Arlington today, the monk who was injured earlier in their trek (he was hit by a car and had to have his leg amputated!!!) is joining them in DC! I may have to actually watch the news for a change, so I can see them realize their goal and hopefully make a case for their cause. Today was my peaceful day, bye for now!
Dianne you are getting a day behind on your posts – this isn’t what you planned! Tomorrow I will be back on track. On 2/8 I had a chill Sunday morning with the pets only to get word that my sister, niece, nephew and mom had all spent the night in their house without heat!! Thankfully it was mostly resolved by the end of the day but brrrrrrrrrrrr it has been a cold month! One of the only photos I took was of Uli’s heart on his chin that my sister noticed when she first met him! So I sent it to her along with our love and warmth… it reminds me of Aloka the Peace Dog’s heart on his forehead. I have been calling Uli, Uli the Peace Dog since I started following the monks. They walked from Woodbridge to Alexandria on Sunday, closer to their final destination of Washington DC.
I worked from 12-6 at Element with Anne! I loved it, love working with her, love helping people to feel good and I simply love busy work – wiping down the tubs, squeegeeing the floor, folding towels, all of that work is very satisfying to me. Like Dan Buettner says “move naturally” and my ring clocked lots of ‘housework’ throughout those 6 hours.
Came home to a great surprise – vegan bratwurstsssssssssss and fries for our Superbowl dinner! Watched the game, LOVED the halftime show – Bad Bunny has two new fans in the Smith household. He did a phenomenal job showing off his hometown vibe, spreading uplifting messages and singing and dancing like a KING! Gaga, Ricky Martin… so cool. I stayed up late. Be peaceful. Bye for now!
Workday! I love working at the yoga studio, getting everything set up, seeing all of the students and the teachers, going through all of the tasks with intention, leaving the space ready for the next person to come in and do it all over again. I am thankful that my friend Anne put together such a fantastic system that allows me to be productive and helpful! Today I decided to be mindful of how I manage my emotions – if something wasn’t left as I expected, if the classes are letting out later than I expected, if questions arise that take me out of my set expectations, I did this because last week when things weren’t going as I expected it was obvious in my outside body and since Mike was taking a class, he read my emotions because they were clearly outside of my mind and interpreted them. Turns out he interpreted them wrong from how I was feeling inside but from how he was feeling. That was a powerful example for me to be mindful of how I let my thoughts turn into a physical reaction that others can ‘read’. Fast forward to this Saturday, which had lots of expectations unmet, I said one thing to Mike when I noticed ‘one thing’ but as they continued to build, I kept them to myself and handled them appropriately. Later I asked Mike “when you got out of class, could you tell I was annoyed?” to which he responded “No!” Yalllaaaahhhh I did it, now the task is to continue. Peace Begins With Me.
I was invited to attend a Galentine’s event with 3 of my friends – I love that we have been friends since our kids were in kindergarten, I think it’s been 22 years now – being held at a venue I pass on my way home from work. I said that I could “stop in” well, two hours later I left with some local ‘salves and balms’ I love a nice balm – I got one for my throat chakra (communication), a refreshing hand cream (since my hands were so dry from washing at work) when I used a sample it actually did refresh my skin, and two itchy sticks to give as gifts. There was another local vendor who handmade earrings so I got a pair for myself and one pair for each of my girls. I sat and visited with my friends, saw an old coworker from GEICO – I was talking about my dad when I saw my coworker from across the room – who used to work for him! I jumped up and gave her a big hug – I love how in this picture my hand is blurry because when I hug, I rub! HAHA! I’m not a fan of my own profile but I am a fan of hugging my friends. Bye for now!
Woke up early without my alarm, waited to see if I was awake or if I was going to fall back asleep… time to get up! Fridays I don’t have work work, because I leave it open in case I’m needed to help with my dad and today I was needed! I thought about the monks when I woke up, hoped they had a nice night’s rest in Spotsylvania and were feeling good to walk yet another day! Timing… I needed to be at my dad’s by 10:30am, the monks were leaving their rest spot early, I had to pass by where they were crossing… so I left at 8, found a spot to park and stay warm. I watched Google Maps to see where the “congestion” (red) was, waited until I saw the police cars driving slowly and I got out in time to walk to the side of Lafayette Blvd, crouch down to my knees in the snow and look them all in the eye and thank them as they walked by. Yesterday I had on my sunglasses but not today – it was wonderful to see them all again. Venerable monk and walk leader (and Aloka the Peace Dog’s human) Bhikkhu Pannakara looked at me, said what sounded like ‘thank you mam’ and handed me a bouquet of some of his flowers. After they were past, I looked around at the couple of people who were standing with me and just said “oh my gosh! would any of you like some of the flowers?” and I handed them out. I kept an orange rose and I’m drying it out by pressing it in my National Geographic wildlife images book from my sister in law, Carly and would love to put it in my Awakening the Mind, Lightening the Heart book which my brother in law (Carly and Mike’s brother) Chris gave me.
Then off to my dad’s, not the best visit – couldn’t get him to get changed so we could go get our pizza, no matter how much I assured him, or tried to show him the schmutz on his sweater, he didn’t believe that his sweater needed to be changed. Tamam – keep your sweater on! LOL. It was unusual that he didn’t sing when I put on the Jammin with DRWD playlist, but he did say “Ah Steppenwolf, that was my………” to which I finished his sentence with “CB handle” when Born to Be Wild came on LOLOL. Couldn’t find appropriate parking at the pizza place so I went in, ordered two slices to go and went back to the car to wait with him, we had pizza at home. He remained agitated, but I could hear him laughing to himself occasionally. I’ll look for tips on how to get him to change out of his sweater for future visits. Forgot to post this on the 6th, posting it now. Bye for now!
I love driving to my dad’s in the winter, along one stretch of road just over the railroad tracks, there are so many birds. In the sky are big, separate flocks of Canada Geese flying in formation, almost looking in silhouette because of the high cold clouds with the sun shining through – remember this. When I was in Jordan I would say that to myself all the time “remember this moment, remember what this looks like, remember how this is making you feel” everything was so new and real, I’ve been saying it to myself more now (than I ever did before living in Jordan) that I’m back home but especially because my dad ‘doesn’t remember’.
My memory is not THAT GREAT, it isn’t that I have a memory problem I just live in the moment. I consider my lack of a strong chronological memory evidence that I don’t dwell on the past, but I do like to remember times with my family when we were all together in New York. My sisters being little, our dog Madchen, my mom and dad being our parents together. It is sad sometimes to know that my dad doesn’t remember that time of his life. He thinks of his children as young ,but doesn’t quite connect himself to me in the present, as my dad. He does answer when I say “hey dad…” he’s been a dad for 58 years, I guess you can’t forget that. It is my worst fear, to forget that I’m married to Mike or to forget that I’m a mom ugh that is terrible. Being a mom has been the best thing I’ve ever done. We had a nice visit, like we always do. He’s typically withdrawn when I get there, sitting in his spot, quietly, listening to music with Shirley tidying and catching me up on their goings on. We eventually start joking around, today I told him about the documentaries I watched last week while Mike was on a short tour. Ed Sullivan, Led Zeppelin, WHAM!, Eddie Murphy – I’d tell him a little bit of what I learned about the people and it usually sparks something in him and leads to a little discussion. Not all of it makes complete sense, or is even true (if you have a loved one with dementia you know what I’m talking about) and a lot of times he is so eloquent – what did he say today… “now, how am I going to word this…” I love when he pulls out phrases like that. He made a couple of jovial digs, laughing when the song “You Talk Too Much” came on. He stood up as I was leaving which was nice, as sometimes I have to encourage him to get up, stretch and give me a proper goodbye. Today, we had a big hug and said goodbye to each other, I told him I would see him in 2 days. When Shirley came into the room with something for him he was distracted with that for a moment and he said to me “oh you’re leaving?” and I said “yeah Dad but I’ll be back on Friday and we can go get a slice of pizza” and he said “pizza sounds good” then he opened his arms up for a hug… so in this case, I was glad that he’d forgotten he’d already hugged me and said goodbye. I hope I see the monks tomorrow. Bye for now!
I loved seeing the large crowd that walked behind the Buddhist monks into downtown Richmond yesterday! It had to have been the largest crowd of their trek, I’ll need to look up some stats! Couple more days til they are here in Fredericksburg. Our new governor Abigail Spanberger declared February 2nd as Peace Day in Virginia. Wow, do I love that, makes me tear up.
One of my prized treasures is my Oma’s laughing buddha – after she passed away this is one of the items of hers that I kept. I never asked her about it, why she had it, where she got it – I guess I’ll never know but now it is mine and I have it up as high as it can go on my fireplace mantle and facing my front door. He was a jolly Chinese monk named Budai, I did a quick search on him.
Happiness & Contentment: His constant laughter signifies joy and finding happiness in the present. Abundance & Wealth: His large belly and sack symbolize endless giving and prosperity. Good Fortune: He brings positive energy, wealth, and blessings, making him popular in Feng Shui.
When the monks are in DC they are going to ask Congress to make Buddha’s birthday a holiday in the US. I’ll be curious to see how that goes. I’ve been thinking about the time that Jillian told her art class that she was a Buddhist when they were discussing religion while they worked, she was in 3rd or 4th grade. Her art teacher sent me a note to let me know it caused quite a stir “the kids were telling her that she was going to go to hell!” She wanted me to know in case it upset Jillian that they said that. I don’t remember that it did but I do remember when she was a senior, one of those kids told me that he couldn’t believe he said that to her and it bothered him that he did. I told him that he was only saying what he believed to be true at that time and that we didn’t ever think badly of him or the other kids. Jillian said she didn’t even know why she said that, she remembered me saying that if I related to anything it would be Buddhism since I believe living things deserve a chance, that humans aren’t the only living ‘things’ on this planet. I eat a vegetarian diet, I take bugs outside, I’m thankful… I couldn’t walk 2300 miles for peace but I do try to be mindful and compassionate in my day to day life. Peace.Begins.With.Me! Bye for now!
The moon was so bright last night that my yard looked magical. Today after stuffing myself into my yoga pants, taking my first yoga class since November and then doing sauna and cold plunge, Mike and I worked on the ice on our driveway. We were able to get a lot done and tonight the magic will be gone, covered by chunks of ice that we threw from the driveway and into the yard. My Oura ring clocked that I got into Zone 4 – I really need to focus on getting my heart rate up this year. I would be so happy to get my cardiovascular age down, right now my ring says it is 3 years younger than my actual age. I don’t even know what ‘age’ I want it to be, maybe I’ll shoot for 5 years younger.
The Venerable Monks are walking 2,300 miles for peace and today is day 100, stopping in Richmond. They will be here in Fredericksburg on Thursday. I work until 2pm, I hope that I get to see them and Aloka the Peace dog. They are walking from Ft. Worth Texas to Washington DC, on schedule to complete their walk on Feburary 10 or 11. May the monks and all beings be well, happy and at peace. Bye for now!
February 1: I’ve decided that this year I will utilize my DiForYou blog since I’m not active on Facebook and noticed that I don’t post much on Instagram anymore either. I really loved Instagram but now it is another place for consumerism which I really hate. I also don’t like wasting money and I pay for this so might as well use it for something! 🙂
Letting those of you who subscribed to DiForYou know that I’ll likely still document travels here – we are going to Vietnam in the spring – but it might end up mostly as a diary of things going on in my life, accompanied by photos. I will publish without emailing subscribers (after this post) because my goal is to write often and I don’t think it is going to be that interesting for a reader, but feel free to check in. I have a few plans for the upcoming Year of the Horse and I want a place where I can look back. Could be a little much, but maybe a Di(A Day)ForYou post is what I’ll strive for. I’ve always enjoyed viewing projects where an artist does a painting a day or a photographer takes a photos of something for 365 days to see how it changes, I did something like that a few years back and took a picture a day of a tree in my yard as it got it’s leaves in the spring. Not sure if I will change much this year, but I hope I do and maybe it will show in my writing. Bye for now!
DiForYou 