Marla the Blogger

Fall and winter are difficult for me where we live because the weather gets so incredibly gloomy. I always tell people the thing I like least about living here is that the sun hardly shines from October to May. This year, right on schedule, it's been cloudy and rainy since the first day of fall and isn't scheduled to let up until early next week. I know to get through the months ahead, I need to find ways to keep my mood up so the rainy, gray days don't get to me. A few things I'm going to try:

• Don't let the weather change plans - my son has a walking fieldtrip at preschool today. They're still going, rain or shine (as long as there isn't thunder and lightening). The teachers just told everyone to come prepared with rain coats and umbrellas. A little rain or bad weather doesn't mean you can't do things you've already planned, you just need to be prepared.
• Use a little "music therapy" - I've found that music can really improve my mood. I'm creating a few "gloomy day" playlists with songs that put me in a particularly good mood that I can use when it's gray and gross outside.
• Enjoy it - dark and rainy days make me want to crawl back into bed and read a book. Obviously, I can't do that every time the weather is bad, but occasionally I'll allow myself some time to do just that and wallow in melancholy for a half hour or so. Then I'll get up and get going again.

When we used to live somewhere predominantly sunny, the occasional dreary day was actually a nice change. It's a challenge for me when there are so many gray days, day after day, but I don't have to let them get me down. I can't control the weather, but I can find ways to be in a good mood, even when the weather is bad.

When we lived in a small apartment in Boston, I did a pretty good job of not accumulating "stuff" and getting rid of things we weren't using anymore.  But now that we're in a house with a basement with lots of storage, I'm less vigilant about staying organized. I noticed lately that the pile of "stuff" in our basement has been growing and growing and I'm less likely to let anything go. So I decided that it's time to get rid of some stuff and get organized again. I have a day off from work next week, so I'm going to spend the day working on it. One day is not a lot of time, really, so I've come up with a game plan to make the most of my time:

• Don't waste time just "cleaning" - I know I'll be tempted to spend a lot of time putting away folded laundry and straightening up the house, but I'm going to ignore the usual household chores focus on what's in our storage areas, like the basement and closets.
• Have a game plan - whenever I get to an item, I'm going to decide if it's worth keeping, can be donated/given away or is just trash. Whatever category it falls into, it will be placed there immediately. If I'm keeping it, I have to find an appropriate place to store it. Trash goes straight to the trash and items to be given away will all be put in one specific location (on the guest bed).
• Make rational decisions, not emotional ones - I've pretty much kept every toy and piece of clothing my son has had since he was born. My excuse was that we might need it if we have another child, but what are the odds we'd have another boy born in the same season as our son? I need to keep just the things that have real sentimental value and give the rest away to someone else who could use it.
• Set a cutoff time - I don't want to run out of time and have piles of things by the trash and in my guestroom for weeks afterwards. So I'm going to decide what time I need to be finished by, and then subtract an hour or more to give myself time to deal with the trash and drop off items to be donated. I probably won't get through everything, but I want to fully complete the process with as many items as I can.

It's easy for me to just shove something in a closet or the basement so I don't have to deal with it right away, but the long term result is a big pile of disorganized stuff. Not only does it make my basement and closets a mess, but there are lots of good, usable items going to waste that someone else might need. I'm looking forward to my organization day; I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!

I used to have a fantastic memory. I rarely needed to write things down and could find anything I was looking for within minutes, even without much of an organizational system. When I was pregnant with my son, though, I noticed my memory was starting to slip. I'd walk into a room and forget why I went in there. I started having to write myself notes and leave myself voicemails as reminders. I've heard that's pretty typical with pregnancy, but my memory never really came back completely and now it seems to be getting even worse. I'm sure some of my memory "loss" is due to the hectic pace of my busy life, but I decided there are some things I should do to try to improve my memory:

• Exercise my brain - I've never been a huge fan of crossword puzzles or sudoku mostly because I usually don't have the time or patience for them. But completing brain teasers is supposed to give your mind a good workout, so I'm going to find something I can put in my purse to work on during any "down" time, like waiting for an appointment.
• Cut back on the distractions - as a life-long multi-tasker, it's hard for me to admit that I need to do better about focusing on one thing at a time. However, I know part of my memory problem is that I need to concentrate better and give something my full attention before I move on to the next thing.
• Get more sleep - I know I've mentioned this a million times, yet I am still not getting enough sleep regularly. Easier said than done, clearly, but I suspect my memory would improve if I were better rested.

I'm not expecting that my memory will return to the sharp trap it was in my early twenties, but I'm hoping with some additional work I can give it a boost. I know as I get older, and my memory weakens due to age, my efforts will be even more important.