It's almost noon, and all I've consumed today is my morning coffee. I may be a little harried in the brain as I write, but that's OK.
Sometimes I have trouble reconciling the old me with the new me. The old me was a hardcore cat lover. The new me deals with the daily struggle of "Should I keep the cats? Should I find them a new home? Do I still 'love them'" The loyalty issue tugs at my heartstrings. With Leo, our house feels smaller, they're always in my face, and the constant fur and daily feedings and dirty litterboxes and Boss laying on me every second I sit down, has become such a major annoyance. Boss is trying to take over my lap as I type. He knows, he always knows. And he's now trying to chew my laptop power cord. Sa-weet. I love you too, Boss.
The old me was disorganized but could deal. The new me cannot take disorganization and it's a daily struggle to try to stay on top of things while constantly looking for something. I need organization in my life. I can't remember things like I used to. Sometimes I wish that some organization pro would come knock on my door and whip me into shape.
The old me didn't have to think so hard about what I liked to wear and how to decorate my house. The new me gets overwhelmed by fashion and decorating, especially for the holidays. Although I still love these artforms, I'm personally overwhelmed by all of the options out there. I will stick with what I have. However, when I think about how little holiday decorations we do have in comparison to what I had growing up, my heart breaks a little. As a child, I loved getting out these little treasures every year. I've just never been able to stomach paying for and storing holiday decorations (back to organizing). I know I will have to get over this in an effort to start family traditions with Leo. We've always celebrated holidays out of town with family which is one reason I always justified the lack of decorations.
The old me could handle the burning rubber smell of our Pottery Barn rug. With Leo crawling around everywhere, the new me wants it out of our house ASAP. After doing some research online, I've discovered this was a latex issue with their rugs from '06and earlier. PB told me over the phone that they'll issue a credit if we bring the rug back to the store with proof of purchase. Now if only I hadn't shredded my bank statements from four years ago in a useless attempt at organization (I hate papers) while nesting last year. The bank will mail us the statement for 5 bucks (crossing my fingers it was my debit card and I have the right time period.).
I'm hoping I can figure these new me things out; maybe some sustenance (other than coffee) will help. If any of you has any advice, please share.
5 comments:
Girlie, stop being so hard on yourself. I totally relate! The dogs used to be my babies. Seems as though as soon as I get Graham situated, they need something. I feel bad saying that because I do love them, but it really wears on your patience when you have another (demanding) person to take care of.
As for the decorations, don't fret. Go after Christmas to the sales and stock up. I just went in our basement to look for some baby stuff and behold, a new tree skirt from PB! Totally forgot I bought a week or two after Christmas. Normally something like $100 and I got it for like $20!! Can't wait to use it. Leo won't remember all the decorations just yet, so start now. Believe me, I'm thinking I may need to take some Christmas stuff down this year because Graham will be into EVERYTHING!! I'm sure you don't have all these memories from when you were one years old! Love you!
I hear you on so many levels... I've had to really stretch myself since Linus was born. The cat and dog are rather neglected and the house always seems to be a disaster. My home improvement projects have come to a standstill.
But I'm figuring this all out slowly and rebalancing priorities. Life marches on and sometimes I just need to chill out and stop worrying about everything so much. My smartphone has been a blessing (and a curse) for keeping our schedules organized and my priorities straight.
That's so funny, Christina! When I was looking for our rug receipt in a bag of papers, I got excited over a PB receipt and then quickly realized it was from an outlet trip where we'd stocked up on kitchen things from William Sonoma. The plus side of this discovery was I saw an Oxo potato ricer on there that I'd put in a kitchen drawer and forgotten all about! Now we'll have smooth as silk mashed potatos for din din!
Thanks to you and Ken for helping me chill the F out! I've been so high strung and stressed out lately over the small stuff.
My favorite thing about each holiday is picking out one new thing. We only do it for major holidays, but each year we find something online (lately) or shop for the decoration, and we really look forward to it. That does mean there's some tackiness from our first years doing this, but I can always get rid of it when I stop being so sentimental. There really is something magical about opening up the holiday boxes and setting them out each year! Lots of memories and conversation.
Too bad I won't be in my own house this year to enjoy the Christmas decor. Darn our landlords.
That's a good idea for holiday decorating, Karen. I'm definitely going to buy something this year. We have lights we bought from Target on sale a couple years ago and a few odds and ends from family that have helped. I've always wanted to make decorations like my mom did with my dad's family when they were first married. Want to fly on over for an ornament party? I'll foot the bill for supplies!
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