This is going to be a lot like posting assignments for my students...one long page of updates regarding all of the things I am really trying to do to improve my life during the month of September. Some of the updates will be included in the regular blog, but a few other items will be posted here as an archive of sorts of the concrete steps I am taking (or took if you are reading this from the future) to get my life together.
---
Day 1 (Thursday) - I started the day with an old friend from high school, which was really great! We caught up on life, realized that while we had encountered many bumps in the road it was still all good, and promised to stay in touch to encourage each other. I was so inspired after our chat that I decided to make good on one of my personal goals for the month, which is to refresh my French for a planned trip abroad.
Here is the thing, I have no actual plan just yet...I have no specific idea how I will get to Europe. I have no idea what I will be doing once I get there. But I will be able to order dinner in French, and maybe get directions from a person on the street without asking them to repetez s'il vous plait.
However, I did not just buy a French text book, work book, and language CDs...I bought a whole bunch of books because Borders Books is going out of business and...well, there is nothing more to say about that. So, even though I am supposed to spend this month de-cluttering, I bought a book on that topic and another on re-making my wardrobe. At least my priorities are in order.
---
Day 2 (Friday) - Hmm...the day started with me not waking up as early as I had hoped. The husband took off from work, so that meant that I overslept because I generally do not get up until he does. Bad habit. I did see the end of Homicide, but I had to check the info on the cable to find out which episode it was.
Lunch with a friend who has had a pretty rough year herself, but she seemed happy and upbeat and I guess that is part of the secret--to make it all look easy even when it is anything but. (We both will be alright though!)
Cue the anxiety...my back has been stiffening ever since I got to my parents' house. I left there wanting a drink because sometimes my family is that stressing. I did not get to study my French lesson as planned, nor did I get to print out any of the stuff that I needed. And let's not even discuss the month-long to do list that I have yet to tackle (I wrote it, so that is something). I know that people mean well, but I really just want to spend one quiet weekend not having to do anything for anybody, but that just does not happen. So another weekend blown before it even begins.
**********************
Day 3 (Saturday) - I need to backtrack just a bit--I started the Happy Black Woman 31-Day Reset on Friday. I had gone to the site on Thursday looking for the official September update (even wrote it down on my calendar), but it was not there when I checked. But it was there on Friday, so I promptly signed up and then spent the better part of the evening wondering what type of special notebook I would use for keeping my assignments... Dilemma solved, assignment completed, and away we go!
This morning, I took my mother to the bank and then spent the rest of the day at my parents' house. We watched every cooking show on PBS, the Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and all the while, I read a book (yes, a bad habit I have of reading and watching TV at the same time--too much multi-tasking). Thanks to that book, I have another self-improvement project in mind...
But, still no progress on de-cluttering. FAIL
---
Day 4 (Sunday) - Woke up again with a massively swollen eye, which meant that I took forever to get out of bed. Thought that I was taking my mother to church, but she decided to go with my father, so I had a choice of Sunday worship options. I mistakenly believed that services at Shiloh began at 10:55am, so that is about the time I left the house...which meant that I was in total shock to walk in an hour and a half late. I considered leaving for chapel services at Crampton, but realized that would have been silly and unnecessary (not as if that many people know me at Shiloh anyway). I did finally decide where I will be at church next Sunday. Home to Tabernacle to celebrate its centennial, hopefully with the Baby Niece and my brothers in tow.
I came home and wrote about my 31 Day Reset on the main blog. My intention is to incorporate some of the assignments in this journal. So far I am on Day 3, which is to write a love letter to myself...which is going to be interesting since I am hardly the love letter-writing type. Once upon a time I might have been, but cynicism has a way of changing things.
We went to a BBQ and had a great time. And I did not drink anything, even though there was plenty of wine and the husband forgot and tried to give me some hard lemonade. But I think this will be a lot like not eating beef anymore--you just don't. A polite decline, and the selection of some acceptable alternative. Like a Diet Coke with a salmon burger (or really delicious grilled chicken).
---
Day 5 (Labor Day Monday) - The Monday of a holiday weekend is always tricky for me since I work from home and generally do not take these days off...but since the husband is home, it means very little work for me. Today was typical in that I got on the computer to do a little work and he started checking in every few minutes or so to inquire about our plans for the day.
He wanted to use a discount deal (of course) so we headed to a boutique uptown so that I could pick out something. What he did not know, but what I clearly knew from experience, was that any discount deal offered for clothing, shoes or accessories tends to be the same as having a coupon for a mattress. The merchant can afford to offer to take up to 50% off the retail price, because you are still going to spend a LOT of money on whatever you select. So I got a sterling silver cocktail ring.
Back at the house, I retreated to my office to get to my long-awaited French language lesson (actually, it was a little refresher). And I am happy to say that I passed. The truth is, I did very well in French class so my issue is not understanding written French, it will be understanding what people are saying to me. At some point, I will need to really practice my conversation skills, so I might hang out at the Le Madeline in Bethesda to chat with the African cashiers.
I completed the love letter to my future self for the Reset, but it was more like a letter expressing certain hopes for myself a month from now. Ironically, I noted that the letter would be delivered to my inbox on my 10th wedding anniversary...so I am hopeful that is a good sign for things to come. I also completed the next assignment regarding the words that define my values. Although I was distracted when brainstorming the words, I was very intentional in narrowing the list to the ten that will be used in drafting my personal mission statement. Love. Respect. Stability. Wisdom. Courage. Faith. Trust. Sincerity. Justice. Growth.
I wrote about the selection process and how specifically difficult it was to decide on a final word. I had no issues with the first five but the second five took some thought because I wanted my choices to truly reflect values that I want for my life. The hardest word to choose was Growth, but once I finished my list, I am very clear that each word is absolutely the best word.
One last thing--this weekend was not a total bust. I was stressed out a little, but it all worked out so I am going to rid myself of the impulse to anticipate anxiety...I need to have a little more faith.
---
Day 6 (Tuesday) - I did not do anything significant (that I can remember since I am writing this several days later)...But I am keeping up with my Happy Black Woman reset and my French lessons. Today's assignment was a little weird for me, but I did my best with it. I thought that I would have to write my personal mission statement today, but instead I had to examine my values in action. I had to rate them and then explain how I could better walk the walk. But I kind of feel that I chose the values that I already live by, although I guess there is always room for improvement.
***********************
Day 7 (Wednesday) - I have been taking my online French lessons and am considering signing up for a website that matches me with a French-speaking pen pal who wants to learn English. When I went to the site, I typed in some search criteria for a female French-speaker, and what I found were a lot of young people who want to practice English (and already seem very good at it) or a lot of older women who wrote their profiles mostly in French. I haven't decided whether to do it yet, but it is nice to know that I have that as an option.
As far as my to-do list for de-cluttering the house...still not going all that well. I did put away some luggage, but then I need to fix the shelf where the other travel bags were stored. And that is typically how I get detoured from one project--I start something and then note how another project that would aid me in fixing the current project also needs to be done, and before you know it, I have three unfinished projects. Argh!
One major development of the day--I returned to yoga class! And thankfully, it was being taught by a different, more grounded, less passive-aggressive teacher. And though it was a challenge to return after a four-month absence, it felt good to be there.
---
Day 8 (Thursday) - Another detour from the intended plan today--instead of doing some laundry, or putting away my shoes, or maybe some of my clothes, I went to H&M. But that trip was to follow up on the advice from my style makeover book...
I did clean out my inbox a little, and that was major! In the past few months, I have gone from 200 to 500 to 1994 unread messages...now I am down to 1667. Maybe by next week, I will get down to 1200 or so. Maybe.
Sometimes the discount deal obsession the husband has can get rather ridiculous. I mentioned to him that my mother wanted fried chicken for dinner, so he pulls out a menu from a place where we ordered Jamaican food a few months ago. He called but there was no answer, so we drove by to find that it was shut down. So we ended up at KFC; of course I would have preferred the other place and while I appreciate the hub's "support small business" spirit, it can get out of hand if we are driving around in the pouring down rain through the hood to find a closed down business. It is a lot like being on vacation when he must find the recommended place in one of his travel books. Can we say obsessive?
---
Day 9 (Friday) - I found out about the UNCF college fair last night, so I spent the day at the Convention Center. Spoke to a lot of prospective young ladies, saw my former boss again...and then stopped by to check in on the parents. I planned to attend the alumnae Happy Hour, but I got the wrong time and ended up arriving well after it ended. And that should not have been a big deal under normal circumstances because surely there were a few stragglers, right? Wrong, so I went home and still no de-cluttering accomplished.
---
Day 10 (Saturday) - Total Busy Black Woman Day, so it appears that September will pick up where May and June left off--sorority meeting in the morning, the Morehouse vs. Howard Football Classic game in the afternoon, and parties in the evening. Except, in true Newton-Murphy Law to the Third Power fashion, that is NOT how my day went...I was late for everything. Let me say that again: EVERYTHING!
But it was a GREAT GAME! I hadn't had this much fun at a college football game since the last time I went to a college football game 18 years ago. It was great to see the band, a lot of my classmates and just great to think about the good old days...by the way, my college experience was a lot like School Daze and Drumline.
However, I am going to need the Howard alumnae to step it up next year! It is a little more than embarrassing that we practically filled our side of the stadium with folks who FLEW in from out of town, whereas if I saw a Howard alum above the age of 21, it might have only been by accident (I did see Stacie Turner of the Real Housewives, and maybe she remembered me from our project a few years ago), but surely the great Howard University has enough alumni to at least sell out their side of RFK stadium!
But on the bright side, I had a lobster dinner at Clyde's. So I could care less that Morehouse lost.
*************************
Day 11 (Sunday) - I got in at 2am, so the fact that I was even conscious at 8am is a miracle! Of course, I did not actually wake up or get out of the bed until 9:30am.
So my home church sponsored a Homecoming service for its centennial and though I wavered a little about whether I would attend (because the Morehouse President was speaking at Crampton and there was a special service at Shiloh, my new adopted church), I went because I really wanted to be there for this occasion. I was unsure of what I was going to wear, and so I just happened to settle on a purple dress. And guess what everyone was wearing when I arrived...purple tee shirts! Can we say kismet?
I had wanted my brothers to attend the services with me, but of course that did not happen. I also wanted to show off the Baby Niece because I just think that the people who knew us once upon a time would love to see her. It was a homecoming service, and for the few remaining members who remember our grandmother, it would have been nice for them to see that she lives on through the next generation, especially when her name was called during a memorial segment. But perhaps another time when service ends after two hours instead of five...
Today is also the 10th Anniversary of September 11. I hate to admit this, but I cannot bear to watch the same memorial service from year to year. Not that I am insensitive to the depth of this tragedy for so many Americans, but maybe after this year we will have turned the page. We should never forget, but we also need to stop picking the scab or else it will never heal.
Which reminds me...I still have not finished the remembrance series on the other blog. I just need to focus, but the week ahead will not aid me in that process.
---
Day 12 (Monday) - The first thing I needed to do was to come back in here to finish all of the entries I started, but did not complete yesterday. I have not been updating this page daily, but more so on a week-to-week basis. And now I am finally all caught up.
And today is another one of those days...on the one hand, I got a text from a friend reporting that my tee shirt is getting rave reviews from folks (woohoo)! This is in spite of the fact that I had the husband toting a bunch shirts with us, but because we missed the pregame tailgate, I did not get to sell any without not looking like a typical street peddler. But it is great that it got seen by the right audience, so hopefully that means the movement is underway (because the loan sharks are hungry again).
But this afternoon I had another Dear-Lord-why-was-I-ever-in-a-hurry-to-grow-up moment. I swear it sucks sometimes not to have a sister, but thank goodness for best friends. I am about to dash off to check on my BFF in a few, because I know how difficult it is for her to be an only daughter. So pray for both of us, because my turn is coming later this week.
Need to catch up on the Reset so that I can post an update. I wrote a mission statement, but then I got caught up with the Classic and TBC Homecoming and fell behind. Stay tuned.
**********************
Day 13 (Tuesday) - I had an early morning doctor's appointment, which I made it to on time (well, I parked my car outside of the hospital exactly at 8:30am, so that is major for me). And I got a pretty clean bill of health, so it was beyond crazy that I spent the rest of the day sick in bed!
Let me backtrack a bit...I made it to my appointment, and at some point near the end of my exam, my doctor asks how things are going with me and if I had any complaints. And I said, "Nope, just a little tired," and after some additional chit chat about a few concerns she had regarding my mother (which I will explain later), I was done. I made a quick stop by the pharmacy to drop off two prescription refills and then headed home. By this time, however, I felt even more tired, so I decided to take a quick nap before tackling all of the projects I had lined up for the remainder of the day...
Three hours later, I awoke with a massive headache. I figured that the headache was due to hunger and sleeping too long, so I attempted to feed and caffeinate myself so that I could go about the rest of my day. After an hour, I still felt crappy, so then I went back to bed and fell asleep again! I got up in time to run a few errands, but while waiting in line at the CVS for my medication, I had a hot flash... Thought it had to be a sign of the Apocalypse since I am still too young for menopause, so while fanning myself and wiping the sweat from my brow, I then got nauseous. And then after standing there for almost half an hour, they could not find one of my prescriptions.
I returned home and went back to bed for the rest of the evening. I did get up to write this post for the Happy Black Woman reset on the blog before retreating back to the bed for the rest of the evening. I have no idea what made me so sick, although I think it might have been a weaker strain of the virus that zonked my BFF and her family the previous week.
---
Day 14 (Wednesday) - Thankfully, I was able to overcome that stomach bug because this was a very important day that I could not afford to miss...the day I got my mother's test results.
Not good. And it sucks. Could be worse...but right now that is not all that comforting.
However, the lunch special featuring potato soup, a side salad, and a chicken salad sandwich at the Cheesecake Factory were comforting. And it was very nice of the woman at the cosmetics counter to give me the bonus since they had run out and I did not want the same bag as I had gotten last time. I do need to find another fall lipstick shade though...
And the most bizarre part of my very long day--Bible study with my parents. Which really felt a lot more like a political meeting since the topic turned to Walmart and its likely impact on DC. Go figure...Jesus and the virtues/vices of cheap consumer goods in the same context!
---
Day 15 (Thursday) - Another doctor's appointment for my mother...can I just say that I really, really hate hospitals?
My father brought her to the appointment, and I got the bright idea to stop in to talk to him separately about her test results, which probably was not a good idea since it was his birthday...thankfully, I never got the opportunity to talk to him alone because he fell asleep in the waiting room. Then the mammogram machine broke down and her appointment needed to be rescheduled (so I'll be repeating this nightmare on Tuesday). Can I say again that I really, really hate hospitals?
And I did not make it to dance class. Nor to yoga the day before. I am very behind on my 31-day reset. My French still sucks. My house is still a wreck. And certain prescription drugs cost more than a pint of liquor (which I am still not drinking)!
---
Day 16 (Friday) - The meltdown cameth...and you can read all about it here.
But then the Lord ignored my rantings and blessed us with the presence of the Baby Niece. We went to out to dinner to celebrate my father's birthday, and as tired as she must have been (it was after 8pm), she did absolutely everything in her power to make us forget anything that was unpleasant or crappy.
---
Day 17 (Saturday) - Reality has begun to set in...but because I have a full BBW Saturday, I get it together and barely make it to my meeting. In other words, life goes back to being normal.
I also barely made it to rehearsal and then was too distracted to know what in the heck was going on for most of it. I did have the presence of mind to bring the sympathy cards for my two fellow dancers who had recently experienced bereavement. Then my dance teacher and I talked about some things, so one thing is very clear--I will not be facing this alone. A lot of people have been there, are there and may be headed here one day, but it will be alright. If I keep telling myself that, then perhaps I can make it through this storm intact.
However, my ghetto mall will not be alright...the Gap closed and I suspect the Victoria's Secret is not far behind. A couple of weeks ago, the power went out at the JC Penny's and folks nearly rioted. The Old Navy always looks like no one really works there. And to the whack Target cashier who acted like I had given him a live hand grenade when I handed him one of my reusable shopping bags, look dearie, part of your job is to bag my stuff. If you think I have cooties, then wear some rubber gloves, but it is NOT my husband's job to help you with yours! There is a lot more that I would say, but I am going to keep this clean, and will conclude by saying that I weep for the future...
***********************
Day 18 (Sunday) - So no, I did not make it to church today...and while that goes quite nicely with my other fails so far this month (no de-cluttering, not keeping up with the 31-day reset, not exercising on a regular basis, etc), I did go to Bible study on Wednesday, and so maybe I can go to Mass someday this week to make up for missing church. Or maybe God can give me credit for having sat through a four-hour service last week...
I lost it today with my brother and it was uncool and a lot like the time last month when I lost it with the police officer who pulled me over for not using a turn signal at a turning light. The husband also got a little of my wrath and my other brother was certainly going to get a taste, but maybe he sensed that I was on the warpath and wisely did not answer his phone. So I am still pissy mad and I don't see any way that I will not be for a while.
I need to find a therapist or a counselor or a support group because I will either drop dead of an aneurysm, cardiac arrest or a stroke if I keep this up. I was so foggy in dance class on Saturday that it was as if I was not there, so I clearly need help. Everyone keeps telling me that I am not alone, but what they are not doing is anything specific to demonstrate that fact. Like, why am I the only person who thinks that there are little details that need addressing NOW rather than later? Why is it that throwing a tantrum is the only way I succeed in getting people's attention?
I threatened today that I might go on a missionary trip to Haiti with my Dad's church just to get away from this and again, no one is taking me seriously. Or maybe they just don't care...but as usual, the reason why I won't do it is because I have other obligations. But maybe it is time for me to act as irresponsible and flaky and selfish like everyone else.
---
Day 19 (Monday) - I do not remember what I did (one of the pitfalls of not posting an update every day). It may or may not come back to me, so I'll move on through the rest of the week...
*****************
Day 20 (Tuesday) - So my client calls me at 7am and again, I am wondering why I do this to myself? Why do I work from home? Why do people think it is ok to call at the crack of dawn just because they happen to be free at the time? Thank goodness for Homicide reruns at 6am...
And despite my best efforts to stall and postpone, this case will probably go forward. I never got it together to even ask for a continuance...so I just prepared a script of likely scenarios in case I get caught off guard as I did the last time. Chicago has been in TV a lot recently, so I need to do my best Billy Flynn impression and tap dance as hard as I can.
---
Day 21 (Wednesday) - So the moment of truth came and I went to court. Thank goodness I had the presence of mind to ask for an afternoon hearing...
At the last minute before leaving, I decided to type out some questions for the Defendant and almost made myself late. I made it to the court on time, but this kind of last minute stuff is exactly why I am always so stressed out. I could have done this last night, but the truth is, I believe that I work better under pressure.
I don't. But that is what I tell myself.
Then I went over to see my mother until yoga class. And again, I was trying to finish a blog post up until the very last minute before I had to leave for class. Why do I do this to myself?
---
Day 22 (Thursday) - Not a good day for me...I was depressed and sad. I don't really want to talk about anything specific that happened, except to say that I did go to ballet class and I finally got back to working through the Happy Black Woman September Reset. I'm still about three weeks behind, but at least I am determined to get through it. Even if it goes past September.
---
Day 23 (Friday) - The Baby Niece all day today. This morning she arrived and after hugging all of the stuffed animals and toys laid out for her, she went tomato picking with the husband in our back yard. After it began to rain and there was no sign of her bunny, she came back into the house and found plenty of mischief to get into. I really need to clean this place, so we spent the rest of the day with grandma.
With the official start of Autumn, that means the countdown to Halloween begins, which is my favorite holiday. Of course, the problem is that Halloween is not a very popular celebration in our neighborhood (too many old people who go to church and have religious objections). So we'll take the Baby Niece to a neighborhood where the residents care more about the kids than their souls. She has informed us that she wishes to be a butterfly, so I guess I need to start looking for her costume.
Nothing is accidental. I am starting to see that there are no coincidences, but that God truly does engineer certain circumstances, such as this entire day with the Baby Niece after I had just written a piece about how wonderful it is to be an anti-parent (parenting without any of the long-term responsibilities). Put that theory to the test today, didn't we? And then again, after declaring my lack of interest in soap operas in another post, guess what I watched today? Oh well!
---
Day 24 (Saturday) - I overslept, or maybe I was soooo tired after the day spent with the Baby Niece. I wonder how parents are able to get up day after day without the aid of coffee because I am already bad on my own. Imagine me with a kid!
Rehearsal went ok today. I feel like I regress in some classes and excel in others...maybe I am thinking too hard. Anyway, I need dance because I need to focus on something else. And then we go to see Fela! and now I am thinking that I need more dance classes...It was excellent, by the way! And my friend Rachel is headed to China next month #jealous!
---
Day 25 (Sunday) - Did not make it to church today...#fail. I woke up and called my mother, but she wanted to go with my father, so in a total act of cowardice, I did not go. This is the second Sunday I've skipped, and for the silliest of reasons (no where to go and no one to go with)...despite the fact that the husband offered to go to Mass with me.
We went to brunch instead. So today combined with the outing last night helps me to achieve one of my other goals for this month, which was to spend a little more time exploring the cultural outlets provided by this city.
The day was capped off by a visit with the ever-delightful Baby Niece (who clearly is not a baby anymore). Henceforth, I guess she could be called the Toddler Niece, but it is accurate to refer to her as the baby (since she is the youngest of my nieces), that name sticks until further notice! I cannot believe that she will be talking coherently in less than two months.
---
Day 26 (Monday) - Today I was under the weather, so I did not get much accomplished. Drank a lot of Alka Seltzer and Airborne. But I did cook dinner, so maybe that is another check mark I can place next to an item on my September reset list.
I also got to add a few more facts to the BBW list of facts to tweet. I am proud to say that this document is growing daily and that there are 14 pages of facts about women! And each day I am thinking of new ways to connect to that potential audience (this week is Banned Book Week). I am also very proud to mention that the number of people who 'like' my BBW page has increased to 54. Part of a movement...
*************************
Day 27 (Tuesday) - I was supposed to attend a meeting, but I bailed...but in keeping with one of the tenents of this month of me, it felt ok. I need to get back onto the responsibility wagon, but it has gotten too easy to let everything slide. That was one of the plans for this month too, but after the 15th, I've not done as well as I would have liked.
Saul, the guy who built the shed for us, came back today to fix our plumbing. Despite my home improvement efforts, the garbage disposal was acting like a drain clearer and our tub was filling up without a water stopper. My organic fixes were not working, so we had to call in the professionals, who promptly fixed everything--even the toilet in the basement which hasn't worked since the Bush Administration. And I am now a firm believer in the adage that if I cannot do something myself, it is better to pay someone else to.
I made an appointment to get my hair braided in the morning because the big Fat Puerto Rican-Greek wedding approacheth. I could not remember the woman's name, could not find her card, and there was no sign of her on the internet, so I drove by to make sure that the shop was still there. Then the husband and I went to lunch at a French bistro where I heard a lot of French being spoken, and maybe understood about a third of it (which means I need to get back to my lessons). I finished the day at Marshall's where there was a haute pair of nude-colored peep-toe booties calling my name and in my size. But I lef them on the shelf because I cannot justify another pair of suede shoes when I barely wear the pairs I currently have.
But I knew that I had done the right thing when I also could not think of a single thing to wear with them or a single place to wear them to. I lead a boring life...
---
Day 28 (Wednesday) - You can read all about my reflections on my morning at the hair braiders on the main blog. Here is my deal--I just do not think that certain people care to treat my hair as well as I try to. In truth, I know that I might be using too much product and not maintaining my hair as well as I should, but are these so-called professionals any better when they pull and yank the comb through my hair without using product to detangle? The natural hair bloggers without cosmetology licenses seem to have a better handle on things in that respect.
But my hair looks good to go for the wedding. Now I just need to try on my dress. And get my nails done. And maybe start to think about what I plan to take with me to Puerto Rico.
Other than getting my hair did (and writing about it), I actually made it to yoga class...almost on time!
And I am determined to get through the bulk of the Happy Black Woman reset assignments before the end of the month. I've decided that it is ok if I need to carry over a few assignments into October, that would be okay since a few are designed to take less time than others. Tomorrow's challenge is not to watch TV for 24 hours. Stay tuned...
---
Day 29 (Thursday) - And I did it! No TV for a full 24 hours (of course, as soon as it was over, I was watching something on TV One or Centric). But I woke up without having to watch my shows, and I left the TV on the New Age music channel. I did listen to the radio and stayed on the computer all day, but I also did some laundry, put away my clothes and shoes, and thus, I crossed three items off my September to-do list!
But I did not make it to ballet :(
---
Day 30 (Friday) - Another full day with the Baby Niece! My brother dropped her off in the morning and while we waited outside for the husband to return from the gym, she and I went for a walk up the block, picked a few more of the remaining tomatoes backyard, and she chased the rabbit into the neighbor's yard. We learned that she is exactly like her father in that she will taste just about anything...
After dropping the husband off at work, I got the bright idea to take her for a walk on the Mall, but a solar energy festival diverted us to Haines Point. We strolled over to the Jefferson Memorial where she gamely took the stairs and then tried to walk right up to the statue. Afterwards we went to see the grandparents.
Another assignment I took on from the Happy Black Woman Reset was to avoid complaining for 24 hours, and believe it or not, that was easy since the Baby Niece was there to keep my mind focused on mostly positive things. But as I spent half the day with my mother...the contrast was obvious. I think that I might try to convince her to do the HBW Reset one of these days.
Ended the evening watching The Adjustment Bureau with the husband. We haven't watched a movie together in a while, so it was very cool.
******************
And that's it! I completed the month and chronicled almost every day. Read my reflections about the month on the main blog page and let me know what you think!
