Total Eclipse of the Heart (+ Brain)

If you worked straight through the solar eclipse today, this is not intended to make you feel judged. My intention truly is to inspire you to look at opportunities like this in a different way.

This morning, I got up and did the same routine I always do in the mornings. On Mondays, my middle schooler does not have school due to a four day a week school district (*insert praise hands here because I freaking love a four day a week school week). I woke up and tended to some sourdough like I usually do. Today’s sourdough was in preparation for the eclipse. I had told my son we were going to do some fun activities to honor today’s solar eclipse and that’s exactly what we did. We all love homemade bread and so I made dough in the shape of hotdog buns so we can wind it around roasting sticks and cook it in the fire and then dip it in cheese sauce. It’s so stinking good. We also stuffed a few with turkey and cheese for extra protein. If you’re looking for a recipe, you can go to my sourdough Pinterest board; it’s linked here.

I made us some fresh juice and got him set up on his online mandarin lesson. We are at a definite lack of culture in the area that we moved to so I am so grateful for online tutors that have kept us linked to some of our favorite things.

After making the bed and starting a load of laundry, and getting myself ready, I sat down at my computer and cranked out some work. One of the things I am working on right now professionally is scheduling fun on my calendar because if I just have free space without anything blocked in it then I will continue to work. So, I blocked out the time for some fun this afternoon and I am so glad. I jumped up from the computer a little after 12pm, and Keegan and I took our side-by-side to my parents to pick up our solar eclipse glasses.

We hustled back to the house and by then, my husband was already down at the fire pit by our lake. As an aside, my husband recently moved from being a loan officer at a bank to a self-employed mortgage broker. If you know anything about starting your own business, then you know it’s very difficult for him to take a few hours off in these early stages of entrepreneurship, but I told him this was important to me, and he did not put up a fight. We got settled in by the fire and started making our roasted sourdough sticks. We spent from 12:30 until around 3:30 out by our fire pit, passing around our eclipse glasses and talking about mother earth. Our dogs loved the time with us out in the sun , and while it wasn’t anything overly significant because we weren’t in the path of totality like we were in 2017 (when we still lived in Columbia Missouri), it was still a fun time.

Some people make a big deal out of everything. They are a ‘try hard’. They are flashy. They are in your face. They just overdo it.

I am one of those people. I do everything as hard and as passionately as I can. This is not a goal that I have; this is my personality. If you know anything about personality assessments, I am in Enneagram three, an INFJ, I have an A/D conflict on Culture Index, I am an Ace (How The World Sees You) and the list goes on and on. I’m the type of person that can wear an individual out or make someone feel bad about themselves, just being myself. And on a lot of days in the past 41 years of my life, I have had a love-hate relationship with my personality. But in the past year, moving out to the farm, I have deepened my appreciation of the personality God gave me.  I have set up boundaries and moved away from relationships that no longer serve me. I have changed the way I nourish and move my body. I have given myself space to be fully who I am and surround myself with the people who aren’t just OK with it, they encourage and support it and love me for it. And that means, my ‘friend’ list has dwindled.  It also means I have become more intentional in my marriage and with my child because those are my people. For many years, I sought affirmation outside of my marriage and while I still want life-giving, loving friendships, my first priority is inside of my home.

So today, ladies, my point is this: if you didn’t take an opportunity to make today a special occasion in your house, that is perfectly fine, and normal, and reasonable. The solar eclipse is obviously not a national holiday. But that said, what are the days that you want to create space for yourself? What are the days you want to make a little more special? What are the days you want to carve out some time and space for yourself and the people you love?

After we got inside from our eclipse festivities, my son, and I lit some Palo Santo, and read through a prayer exercise that I found in the book Rediscover Jesus, by Matthew Kelly. I took some time to reflect and journal alone, and then included my son and asked him the questions I had asked myself, and then shared my own responses with him, even though some of them were sensitive. After that, I threw some taquitos in the air fryer, let him get ready for wrestling practice, and I went back to my office to write this email to you because while I love taking time and space, there is always work to do.

I hope you take the time to look at your calendar for the rest of the month and pick one day where you are going to do something just for you. Block it out on your calendar and make it happen. Light the good candle. Make a dinner from scratch. Take a walk alone or with a friend. Whatever it is, a give yourself a little time in your life this month. You are worth it, and it will make you a better person for it.