Keeping my Head Up

I've been looking for inspiration, as I had previously resolved, but lately I'm not really finding inspiration that I can boil down to a theme for a single blog post.  I've had a few conversations this past weekend, mainly with my boyfriend, about how unobservant I am, though.  On at least three different occasions in the last 3 days, he has completed a sentence to me that started with "How could you not notice that..." and that makes me wonder what kind of opportunities I've missed because I've got my head in the clouds.  Or more likely, because I'm looking inward rather than outward.

This is especially frustrating because I suspect that if you were to interview me 4 days ago and ask me to describe myself in 20 words or less, observant would probably feature in those 20 words.  Definitely not the top 5, but probably at least the bottom 5.

Something else to work on, I guess.

New Things I've Done:

• I started, on the advice of my new online coach, setting alarms for myself to drink water.  Every 4-ish hours, I have to finish my 800 ml bottle of water.  I have to chug at least one of them every day still, and at least one of my colleagues has asked me if I'm pregnant because I'm peeing so frequently, but I've been successful at this for one whole week.  So YAY!

• I skated with my roller derby team for the first time ever in a parade.  Up north, I had been in the Christmas Parade with my team, but at that point in the year there was usually a carpet of snow on the road already, and often a mid-grade snow storm happening concurrently with the parade, so I'd never actually been on skates.  It was really fun.  I'm pretty certain that some of the people I passed had never seen 8 girls and women dressed in red and white athletic gear looping around on roller skates, and the looks on their faces as we wheeled past was pretty rewarding.

Weird Things That Have Happened To Me:

• Two of the residents at one of the nursing homes I work at got married (to each other) this week.  On a Wednesday during business hours.  Ok, truthfully, this isn't something that happened TO ME, but it was something I bore witness to.  Apparently the nuptials had caused quite a stir in the community among both resident and staff.  Some thought it wasn't right that two elderly people were expressing their love for one another in a commitment-type ceremony in the common room of their long-term care home.  Some thought it was a wonderful celebration of love.  Real talk: I think this home is a pretty great place to work and the atmosphere is usually pretty upbeat, but that day was buzzing with positive energy.  The chaplain I share my office with was practically skipping back to the office to grab his bag before he left for the rest of his day.  I think we should celebrate love more.  Because, based on my sample size n=1, it's nice and makes everyone feel good.  Even if, like me, you're quietly celebrating it by more-or-less eavesdropping on the ceremony from your office while you work on your quarterly assessments.

Resolutions:

• Wear sunscreen.  Back when I was in high school, there was this popular recording that started with the words "Always wear sunscreen."  I first read it in a "Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul" book, and it was full of really excellent advice which I have intermittently followed in the fifteen or so years since I first came upon it.  However, the piece of advice that was most emphasized was the sunscreen bit, which I failed to heed today as I embarked on my first parade on a sunny day in late June.  And as I discussed with a fellow roller girl, I inherited the transparent fish-belly skin of my Celtic ancestors which burns if you even think about the sun.  

• Notice more.  My conversations with my boyfriend make me wonder: How many beautiful things have I not seen? How many people have I not helped? How many conversations have I missed because a cool thing was happening right next to me and I completely didn't see it because I was on auto-pilot?  The answer is: probably too many.