photo credit: lanuiop

BTW – How was your day today?

Kick Up Your Heels and Celebrate

As I meandered through this week of annoyingly half-finished tasks, keenly concentrating on celebrating small wins, I stumbled upon a delightful and off-the-wall blog site run by Torley who tells us he’s “a happy human being.”  About “micro-wins” he happily recommends:

If you feel an urge to celebrate something small, don’t let that pass you by. It may seem small, but your heart is telling you it’s really important. Even if it’s not substantial by itself… but could be as a part of what’s to come.

Take a moment to check out his colorful graphics and video sillinesses – they’ll surely put a smile on your face.  And while you’re there, savor some of his well-spoken lines:

• Many little wins, like breadcrumbs, tracked over your life.
• Like the creative process, such judgment doesn’t come quickly. But in the long run, we’ve a right to change our minds.

(Whoa! Has he been reading PattiAnn’s commentary in You Deserve a Break Today?)

“Smalls” Worth Celebrating

Or, I invite you to relish “smalls” of a photographic kind at NewScientist’s Award-Winning Microscope Photography page – what lovely little things are diatoms magnified 200 times! And, just as PattiAnn encouraged us all to do, they make a contribution to their world:

Diatoms are plankton with glass-like silica shells and play a major role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Take a look, see for yourself!  (If you have the time, click through all 17 images; #5 is beautiful and it’s, of all things, a cancer drug.)

Do Your Happy Dance

And for those of you stumbling up the “mountain” called Find a Job! see Sterling Career Concepts’ good advice:

A colleague and friend of mine, Erin Kennedy, CPRW, CERW, shared a smart revelation in a recent blog post. As parents, we focus on celebrating our children’s victories, but what about our own? At the end of a busy day, we tend to brush our own achievements under the rug. True, but not very fair, is it?…

Take the time to set realistic goals and celebrate those wins. It will keep your spirits up and help maintain your momentum. Set goals — make 10 calls, secure a new interview, or reconnect with 5 members of your network — and when you hit each goal, take the time to do your happy dance, pour a glass of wine, or treat yourself to an afternoon off.

On a More Somber Note

As PattiAnn knows, caring for ailing family elder-bodies can be challenging under the best of circumstances.  Long-distance caring magnifies the uncertainty and worry.  Anne C. Roark, in her article Being There, and Far Away, comments:

…Caring for an aging parent, my father insisted, is a duty best discharged from afar. What my father didn’t understand is that whether one lives next door or across the country, the responsibility for elderly parents never goes away. Caring from afar is no easier than being there. It is simply different. On-site hands-on caregivers are like day laborers who do the actual physical work. Distant caregivers are like off-site managers who coordinate services and delegate responsibilities. Both have their roles and points of high stress.  At least, that’s what I tell myself. And if it weren’t for the guilt I feel, it would be true.

Mindmap for Grown-Up Children and Not-Yet-Aged Parents

For those of us who still have time to figure out good solutions to caring for aging parents – meaning either we have or ARE not-yet-aged parents – David Solie offers this conversation-starting and thinking tool:

We are all visual people. Check lists, brochures, and passionate pleas may fall on deaf ears. But a mind map lays out the interconnecting parts, a global view of the complexity that lies ahead. In essence, the When The Bottom Falls Out Mind Map ™ is the current marching orders until further notice. One way or another, it helps settle what really is going to happen…

(And, tip from Ellie: Instead of reaching for those reading glasses, double click on the mindmap so you can SEE it!)

25 Ways to Leave Your Troubles

And, since we all deserve a break today, here’s a sampling of Althea DeBrule’s compendium of 25 ways to be “kind to yourself”:

• Celebrate your accomplishments and any small successes you achieve this week. Buy a birthday cake, light the candles and have a solo party, even if it’s not your birthday.
• Pop some popcorn, relax in your favorite chair with your feet up, and watch your favorite TV show or DVD.
• Take a long relaxing walk. Reflect on the scenery and environment around you. Notice the little things like a blade of grass or the shape of a leaf.
• Make a cup of herbal or green tea and sit quietly thinking about the fun things you would like to do. Put these ideas on paper and take action.
• Take a bicycle ride through a field or park.
• Laugh a lot—especially if you have a hard time doing so. See the good humor in nature—two squirrels fighting over an acorn, a duck as it waddles to a pond, etc.

As a Last Resort – Chuckle at Maura’s Predicament!

When you feel your day has just gone all wrong, comfort yourself that you’re NOT Maura Mahon, mother of eight (all under age 12) on her self-proclaimed day of “domestic shame” when“my domestic inadequacies were broadcast to the world”… read it, laughing out loud, OR on your knees in gratitude for your own every-day-common chaos!  And, to add to your merriment, imagine the aftermath when:

My husband returned home later to a scene of devastation and with a smile of resignation, uttered the immortal words, “How was your day?”

Be sure to read through to page 2!

BTW – How was your day today?