Life’s been all work and no play lately, you say?

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.

— Jennifer Yane

Geez, three, count ’em THREE posts already from me about New Year’s resolutions – you’d think I was stukkk in resolution mode!  But more than likely I’m stuck in feeling that, no matter how busy I am, no matter how much I do, “it’s just not enough”.  I get to the end of the day and I make a list of what I did because, without it, I’m feeln’ like the answer is nuthin’.

Know the One Thing

Try not to do too many things at once. Know what you want, the number one thing today and tomorrow. Persevere and get it done.

— George Allen, Sr.

That seems like such good advice.  But much as I try to “know the one thing I want to accomplish today and tomorrow”, I very much resemble this old journal entry of mine:

Contain the length of each day’s to-do list, Ellie.
Just do something that needs doing.
Trouble is, everywhere I look
there’s something that needs doing…

Weariness Creeps In…

I feel a lot like Jenny Sokol, newspaper journalist as well as military wife and mother, who recently wrote:

I’m weary of all this striving. Good riddance to overachieving, I have decided. Instead, I considered more attainable possible New Year’s resolutions:

Roll my eyes less. Take all my ironing to the drycleaner. Indulge in only expensive, gourmet chocolate. Care less about what others think of me. More laughter and hugs.

Looking at my list, I spotted the trend. In a year when Hubby is scheduled to be away from home for nearly nine months, I knew what I needed to do. Therefore, I hereby resolve to go easy on myself in 2011. When I’m tired, I’ll go to sleep early. When my body needs exercise, I’ll exercise. When it needs triple chocolate cheesecake, I’ll savor a thick slice.

No extra pressure, no extra worries. As my kids say, I’m just going to chill-ax. This year, what I am already will have to be enough.

Let’s give a shout-out for Jenny and all our military families!  And although my life demands pale in contrast to hers, I’m all for, at the very least, taking a break every so often… for making sure that my “Number One” leaves enough room in each day for some chill-ax FUN!

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.

— Fred Rogers

Perhaps play is also the work of grown-up-hood too.  Perseverance is not a product of all work and no play:

In their book, The Power of Full Engagement, authors Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz talk about the power of living in a rhythm of work-relax / work-relax. According to their research, stamina and effectiveness improve through using this combination.

— PattiAnn

So, go ahead, find a puddle to splash in even if you’re just rolling your eyes and pretending.  It’s good for what ails ya’!

Well, Art is Art, isn’t it? Still, on the other hand, water is water. And east is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does. Now you tell me what you know.

— Groucho Marx

I just threw that in for the chuckle value…

SMILE… and SIGH… I leave you today with an old Irish Blessing…

May you have:

Enough happiness to keep you sweet.
Enough trials to keep you strong.
Enough sorrows to keep you human.
Enough hope to keep you happy.
Enough failure to keep you humble.
Enough success to keep you eager.
Enough friends to give you comfort.
Enough faith and courage in yourself to banish sadness.
Enough wealth to meet your needs.

And one thing more:

Enough determination to make each day a more wonderful day than the day before.

So this is it – my last 2011 New Year’s Resolution: I’m going to include some fun in my life – everyday, somehow, someway!

How can you put a little FUN in your life?