The cloudy days of late autumn and winter have always had an adverse effect on me. On cloudy days, I am always tired, rarely productive, and tend to default to scrolling through social media for hours on end. I had one of those days this past week. It is so frustrating because I begin the week with all these plans for productivity!
Of course, it might not be the weather. It could be hormonal. It could be the waning of the moon. Part of my job managing my Facebook page, Donalacasa: The Lady of the House is to find articles to coincide with my daily theme. Many of those are homemaking ideas. Do you ever get the feeling that you have all these ideas but not the resources to actually carry them out?
I'm trying to learn to work with this season and not against it.
I belong to a group on Facebook that opted to become pen pals in real life. It's great because you can share things OFF of social media. It is also something retro to do, which is always fun. Most of the pen pals I chose from the list of self-descriptions were ladies of "a certain age." I have no problem sharing with older or younger ladies, but when there are things happening to your body in a certain season of life, it's easier to discuss with someone who has been there, done that. I even had to laugh at myself when watching an episode of Dr. Who last night. One of the characters asked Clara if she thought that with so much happening, if she thought it was a sign of the end of the world. Clara, without skipping a beat, said, "You think that because you're middle aged. No offense, but people who are middle aged always think the world is about to end." I think there may be some truth to that. I remember my grandparents being middle aged and their conversations were always about everything bad that was going on. The sounded as if they didn't think I'd ever make it to adulthood and yet, here I am -- middle-aged.
Anywho, I was sharing with one of my pen pals about my energy level. I was always a night owl, but now I value all the Psalms and Proverbs that speak of getting an early start on the day.
(Psalm 88:13 ISR98) "But I, unto You I have cried, O YHVH, And in the morning my prayer comes before You."
(Psalm 92:1-2 ISR98) "It is good to give thanks to YHVH, And to sing praises to Your Name, O Most High; To declare Your kindness in the morning, And Your trustworthiness each night,"
(Psalm 110:3 ISR98) "Your people volunteer in the day of Your might, In the splendours of set-apartness! From the womb, from the morning, You have the dew of Your youth!" [KJV says "from the womb OF the morning." I like that.]
(Psalm 130:6 ISR98) "My being looks to YHVH. More than those watching for morning, watching for morning."
(Psalm 143:8 ISR98) "Let me hear Your kindness in the morning, For in You I have put my trust; Let me know the way in which I should walk, For I have lifted up my being to You."
(Proverbs 31:15 ISR98) "She also rises while it is still night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her girls."
I am trying to learn to treat each day as if it were a mini-Shabbat. I have apps on my smart devices that tell me about 2 particular times of day. The first time that I concern myself with is dawn verses sunrise. I set my first alarm to go off at dawn. Because of post-surgical changes to my eyelids, I sleep with an eye mask to prevent dry eye overnight. When this alarm goes off, I take the mask off so that my eyes can get adjusted to the light as the sun rises. I turn on my Daily Audio Bible app to hear the chapter of Proverbs of the day and then I do some exercises to warm up these creaky joints before my feet hit the floor. This much I've pretty much got down as a habit.
I am still working on the END of the day. Because the days are shorter, I've got to try to get so much packed into that time, but I'm sure that Yah designed it that way so I try to work WITH it and not AGAINST it. I suppose the goal would be to make sure that I am finished with work by dusk and be prepared to eat by sunset. If I didn't have electric lights, I would have to, wouldn't I? My ancestors were spinners and weavers, (Slave Narrative of Eliza Whitmire -- my great-great-great aunt). By day, I work from home spinning an weaving medical reports.
Recently, I have been noticing my body wanting to shut down immediately at sunset, but I still end up being up late because I haven't done enough work (especially after sitting all day) to make myself sleepy. Last night, I tried to make myself continue to move until 9 o'clock. I got the space between the wall and the washer cleared out and part of the shelf above it. I have another app (that also has a website) that tells me what time I should fall asleep in order to optimize my sleeping. After I stopped my cleaning at 9 o'clock, I headed upstairs to knit by flashlight while I watched that episode of Dr. Who I mentioned earlier. Based on what time sunrise is, I TRY to turn electronics off 30 minutes before I'm supposed to fall asleep and read a book for 15-20 minutes before lights out. I say TRY because just like I made the morning routine a habit, I need to start making the night routine a habit as well.
Today, Rosh Chodesh (head of the month) is expected. I am learning to try to time my energy level to that as well. Bigger projects happen with the waxing moon (from the sighting of the first sliver over Jerusalem to the full moon). The waning moon is preparation for my low energy days. I'm thinking of even planning my meals around that and save my slow cooker meals for when I know I'm not going to feel much like cooking and need more comfort foods like soups and stews. Miraculously, for the last 3 months my womanly time has lined up with Rosh Chodesh. If I were trying to conceive, it would happen when the moon is full. (okay, I'm cracking up)
Enough chatter for today, I'm losing daylight!
Blessings!
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