Time is Precious!

Winter has arrived in Iowa.  We had snow on Friday and it is snowing again this evening.  This meant I was able to spend a lot of time here at home.  I loved it! I want to spend more time enjoying my home with my two little dogs.

This is also my birthday week.  As the years go by, I appreciate more and more how precious my time is.  When I set my 20 goals for 2020, I thought about that a lot.  In fact, at least six of my goals for the year have to do with being more selective about how I spend my time.

I want to get back to spending time doing creative things.  When I first retired in 2015, I was taking art classes.  I was knitting.  I was spending time with friends.  Now I struggle to find the time to do those things.  It is time to get my priorities straight.

The first step in getting those priorities straight is doing some soul searching about what makes me happy?  What do I enjoy doing?  What is most important to me?

I already know that I want to:

• Read more.
• Have fun with arts and crafts.
• Start knitting again.
• Spend more time doing things I love, like working at the Botanical Garden.
• Spend more time with friends and family.

In order to accomplish all that, another goal is:

• Minimize my use of Facebook and Instagram.

I don’t want to leave social media completely.  I have some online friends, as well as other friends and family that live a long way away.  Social media is the only way we have to connect.  However, for me, the atmosphere on Facebook in particular has changed drastically in the last few years.  It just isn’t as much fun as it used to be.  It is filled with advertisements, political discussions and sometimes arguments, and lots and lots of negativity.  It has also become a real time suck.  

In order to do the creative things I want to do, increase my work at the Botanical Garden, and spending time with friends and family, I need to spend less time on my computer and phone.

What are your tricks for managing your time on social media?  What works for you when it comes to prioritizing how you spend your time?  What makes you the happiest?

My Gratitude for Today:

1. I am grateful that I have reached a point in my life where I have more choices about how I spend my time.
2. I am grateful for my warm and cozy home.
3. While I don't really love winter, it is a wonderful time to stay home and be with my cute little dogs.

20 Goals for 2020

It's a new year and a new decade, which traditionally is a time for making resolutions.  People joke about how quickly they give up on their resolutions.  For that reason, I am not making resolutions.  I am setting some goals for the new year.  My sister had the idea to make 20 goals or intentions for the year, and I liked the sound of that.

One of my goals for the year is to take time to evaluate what makes me happy and how best to spend my time.  I spend the majority of my time as an AmeriCorps reading tutor, but I also volunteer at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. After this school year, I hope to spend more time working and learning  at the Botanical Garden.

During the summer I was working in the outdoor gardens helping with weeding.  I ran into problems with that around the middle of July.  I started breaking out in hives.  I think it was an allergic reaction to bug bites.  I ended up moving my work inside.  Now I help maintain the Gardener's Show House.  This place is such a gift!  I walk in on Saturday mornings, and I just start smiling. What a wonderful place to go during an Iowa winter, and there is always something new to discover.

There are so many opportunities to help and learn here at the Botanical Garden.  Sometimes I help with classes by serving as a Class Host.  About once a month, I set up a cart and have a display for Pop Up Education.  Most recently I showed people terrariums.  That is another great thing about the garden, there are lots of classes and opportunities to learn more. A couple months ago, I took a class about terrariums, and we made our own.

On Saturdays that I work in the Gardener's Show House, we get there early, before the garden is open.  It is such a blessing to walk around, soaking up the beauty in the quiet of the morning.  Two weeks ago as I was cleaning and wiping down furniture, I noticed this little toad sitting on a window frame.  At first I wasn't sure whether he was real or part of the display.  Suddenly, he leaped into the air.  He was real!  I found him again today.  This time he was sitting between the plants on a table I was cleaning.  It may not be the same toad, but I'm telling myself that he is. 

Another one of my goals for the year is to start blogging again.  I started!

My Gratitude For Today:

• I found the little toad again when I was working in the Gardener's Show House.
• I love the beautiful flowers and plants.
• A new year means lots of opportunities to try and learn new things.