Peace Returns...

When I woke up Monday morning, a miracle had happened...
Everyone was back to school / work, and the world was as it should be.

Quiet.

I know I've become an isolationist - a little bunny, snug in it's burrow who never wants to leave...

- But that's not my fault.

I blame... everybody else.

I've been almost completely abandoned for the last two years (at least it's felt that way.) Hubby busy taking care of the infirmed members of his family, the kids with college and work.

I hated it at first - in fact, I had a bonafied nervous breakdown.
But, gradually (and with medication - LOL,) I've gotten used to it - even embraced it.

...And now I go wacko when too many people are around.

You just can't win, can you? LOL

It's not that I mind all the together time, I love my family - I really do...

What I don't love is all the extra meals, the added dirty dishes & garbage, the endless clutter everywhere...
And the snacks! I was just getting to where I could almost recognize a female shape, and now I'm looking like a truck driver again...

I live pretty simply when I'm alone, (cold cereal for breakfast, toast and jam for lunch. I'm only accustomed to making one meal a day.)
I eat because I have to - not because I care...

I guess what really bends me out of shape when they're here is just that it's a change in my routine.

Spoken like a true hermit, I know. (Again, not my fault.) :-)

Anyway, I digress...

What this post was meant to be about is that it's a new year, and along with that comes all the expectations of major change.

For the last decade, I've rebelled at that, and refused to play the "resolution" card.
It seemed to me that it was a treacherous evil trap - doomed to certain failure and self-recrimination, because the ugly truth about resolutions is that they involve changing habits, which, especially at my age, is difficult at best.
(Ugh - major run-on sentence.)

I was doing some reading in preparation for scheduling the music at church... (Each month of the year has a theme, and there is a conference talk assigned to that theme.)

This month's theme is; "Things That Matter Most" taken from the talk by Dieter F Uchdorf.
As I read the talk, I decided upon my mantra for the year - SIMPLIFY.
The talk was filled with good solid advice on overcoming all the noise and chaos that we face everyday, and returning to the basics - home, God, and family.

Favorite Quotes:

"Therefore, it is good advice to slow down a little, steady the course, and focus on the essentials when experiencing adverse conditions."

"It is said that any virtue, when taken to the extreme can become a vice."

"...Do all ...things in wisdom and order, for it is not requisite that [we] should run faster than [we have] strength, [but] it is expedient that [we] should be diligent, [and] thereby...win the prize."

"We would do well to slow down a little, proceed at the optimum speed for our circumstances, focus on the significant, lift up our eyes, and truly see the things that matter most."

"To strengthen our relationship with God, we need some meaningful time alone with Him."

...And finally;

"Be still and know that I am God."

Good advice for any situation - financial struggles, loss of a loved one, major decision making, or just loneliness.

My new theme for the coming year.
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...By the way - did you know that "bonafide" is not in the dictionary any more? (at least not Bloggers)

Sheesh. What's this world coming to?

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