Beating the Blahs

Well, happy Tuesday. At least it better be, dammit.

I haven't been writing much of late, and it's irritating me. To be honest, a lot of things are irritating me these days. I don't know if it's pre-winter blues, the move to Thompson, or what. But I've gotta shake it, cause I don't like the feeling.

So what to do? I am searching my scrambled brain for the things that make me happy. Things that give me a boost, a lift. Right now, a trip to a tropical location is out, so we'll put that one on the back burner.

So far, I've rearranged the master bedroom. Neomom, who's finding herself in a similar state of mind, has rearranged the boys' bedrooms. I've also taken on the long overdue task of hanging pictures around the house of family, friends, good times. If my family can't be here in person, at least I can see them in the photos, smiling at my brother's wedding, in my other brother's back yard, at my wedding. These thing are all good for the soul.

An artist friend of mine uses a quote on her web site "Science will dictate the future, Art will gladden its soul."

I like that thought. And, as such, I visit her blog site every morning and, you know what? It's true. She paints and posts a new work of art (almost) every day. This was my plan for this blog, (daily posts) but I have not kept up with Kim. You can check out her work, by the way, here. She's currently running a contest and giving away one of her paintings each week. You just send an email telling her which one you like each week and your name goes in a weekly draw. If your name is chosen, you win your painting. I encourage you to check it out.

In any case, back to fighting the blahs. We've got two more rooms in the house that need some serious rearrangement, and I'm going to be tackling those in the coming weeks. The rec room needs a couch, some photos . . . we basically need to make it ours. Right now, it's just kind of a kids playroom with a treadmill stuck in the corner. I need to make it a warm, comfy place where I want to hang out.

The living room, as well, seems a tad sterile and uninviting. There's something about hardwood and white walls that's just not cozy.

So that's step one - changing my environment to better suit me.

For step two, I think I've gotta take a page from Mr. Mom, the 80s movie starring Michael Keaton and Teri Garr. As much as some of my stay-at-home dad colleagues hate the title, and as much as it was "just a comedy" there is some truth to it.

At the turning point of the film, Keaton decides he's gotta get back in the game, mentally. He's gotta get up each day, shave, shower and own the role and title of Mr. Mom.

I admit I'm not shaving daily and kind of look like an unmade bed most days. And, I suppose, if you look that way, you're more likely to feel that way.

And finally, step three. I need to find something, (and time for something) in addition to writing, to do. I need a hobby— maybe get back into my photography and attempt to take, and post, a photo a day to go with the blog.

So there you go. My three-step plan to get my head together. Today will, admittedly, be a rough one to start with, as Sontoo got me up at 3 a.m. and I have not been back to sleep. But that's life, it's my life and I've just gotta own it. I have so much to be thankful for. Time to concentrate on the good stuff.

Happy Tuesday!