round here

October is drawing to a close. Boy, it just flew by. For those of you following along on the October Challenge, you’ll remember that I was after three things. Thirty days of focus on my physical well being, which included thirty days of consecutive yoga practice, to start and finish all my Christmas shenanigans, and to finish up some writing projects.

The physical part has been remarkable. Yoga everyday is a gift. It has taken away from my running time, but change is good, and I have a deeper all-over awareness that will translate to anything physical. More than anything, I now feel like I can take on other big changes by immersing myself in the same way. One month ago yoga was a foreign concept. Now it’s a dear friend. Change is around the corner and ours for the naming. My kids are flopping themselves all over the house into bendy positions. My breathing and lungs are clear and mindful. I will totally continue and am thankful for this month of immersion.  

Christmas wrapped up and ready? Well sort of. I had this all planned out from the beginning, but I prefer to raise the bar when it comes to procrastination. I mentioned that we would be giving experiences rather than stuff and that it would mix age groups for some wild and crazy fun. All true. This is for our local friends and family, and I will spill the beans tomorrow. I hope it will be a new Patton family tradition and that you might like to steal the idea for some fun of your own!

My self imposed writing assignment? I’m going to be totally honest here. Writing wise, I’m feeling flat as a pancake. I suppose this is just a spell that I’m passing through, but I’m going to be changing it up some around here, to see if I can find a cleaner fit for right now. That’s vague, isn’t it? 

Many moons ago, on one of our extended trips to Europe and North Africa, Matt and I made a very conscious decision to not take a camera or a journal. To be fully immersed rather than spectating. Some of my most vivid memories and outlandish tales are from this trip and I sometimes wonder if that has anything to do with opting out of any sort of documentation. We were ‘in it’ up to our necks. It was a wild ride with camels and souks and strange bedfellows and close calls. If there’d been a film crew it would have made one hell of a movie, right up there with ‘The Hangover’. But then it wouldn’t have been real, right? See what I mean.

Right this moment, I’m feeling a bit over exposed and I am wondering if I’m losing some of the essence of the everyday in my attempt to document it. TMI probably, but just being honest. 

Do any of you wrestle with this at times?

Do I just need a tropical vacation?

Help!