Early Morning Thoughts

It's early on Sunday morning at the local laundromat. I am basically here alone save for a dad and his daughter doing the same thing I am, washing clothes. I see them here every other week, just like they see me. We don't speak, just smile at each other and go about our chore. Once the clothes are loaded and the washing begins, I begin sifting through the early morning thoughts that are rolling around in my head.

This is my time to be alone. Even though I see two other people, I am really alone as I don't have to have a conversation with anyone. As much as I hated this chore in the beginning, I've actually grown to enjoy it. It is the only time that I don't have to talk to anyone. By the time I've started the drying process, a few other people drop by, the "semi-regulars" as I like to call them. They basically don't speak English. Maybe one of them will say a stilted "Hello" or "Good Morning", but most of the time we just smile at each other and go about our business. I can return to my thoughts or read. I watch the dad and daughter play video games on their iPad. I go back to my peace and solitude. If the muse strikes, I might get a writing inspiration from just sitting there and folding clothes.

Did you know that folding clothes can be very therapeutic? I never knew that! Maybe it has to do with the mechanical way it happens. Not having to think about the way to fold that shirt, those pants or that towel leaves your mind free to wander. I like it when my mind wanders because before you know it, the clothes are folded and ready to be put in the baskets, and I can load the car to go home. If I am lucky, I'll have solved a problem or two, maybe make a decision.

By the time I get home, I am ready for a nap and hopefully can sleep for a while to recharge the batteries. It's 6am, and even though I've been up since around 3am, I've finished with a huge chore that takes some people all week. I've been alone with my early morning thoughts, and can now rest easy for the remainder of the day.

Ahhhh...there is something to be said for getting up early.

Wishing you moments do enjoy your early morning thoughts.

Like anything you see here? Then contact me, Susan Dusterhoft at todayswritingwoman@hotmail.com. I am always looking for more books/products to review. I can also provide assistance with blog writing!

Broken Pieces and a Simple Hug

Scrolling through my Facebook News Feed this morning, I came across rawforbeauty.com's picture with a quote that really spoke to my heart and made me remember what I used to feel like not so long ago.

I've been broken more than once in recent years. Shattered into a billion pieces, and wondering if I would ever be made whole again. Each time it happened, I was completely blindsided and asked myself, "Why me? What have I done to deserve this?" Two constant and familiar questions that have been a mainstay in my life. 

When someone whom you thought would keep his promises and then begins to take everything away from you out of their own selfishness or when someone whom you've looked up to your whole entire life does something life shattering, it's easy to crumble. Your heart, mind and soul are forever changed and you are no longer the same. While you try to steel yourself on the outside, inside a part of you has died. You lose faith in yourself and your self esteem goes down the drain.

Although it has taken months and months to get past these individual events, I've come to realize that I am like a Phoenix, reborn from the ashes of its predecessor. So the quote above which started today's thought is absolutely right; like "hitting the nail on the head." A simple hug from someone who truly cares is the glue used to stick those broken pieces back together so the healing can begin.

There are days when I wish the healing would just get on with it. Then again, if it went by too fast, I would have missed out on the answers this journey has given me for those two questions.

Wishing you moments to help your broken pieces stick back together.
 

Like anything you see here? Then contact me, Susan Dusterhoft at todayswritingwoman@hotmail.com. I am always looking for more books/products to review. I can also provide assistance with blog writing!

I am Tired and Writing-ed Out

I am tired...bone weary. My head even hurts. I am sure you have probably noticed that I have not been writing as much as I used to. Yes, it's true. I'm not. At least not here...or anywhere else for that matter. It is not to say that I haven't been writing, because I have. I have been on writing overdrive at my day job.

In fact, I have been on overdrive at my day job for months, and it has completely worn me out. Some days it is all I can do to just get out of bed. I live on caffeine and chocolate these days. I know this is really bad, but what can I do. In the meantime, I have completely tapped out my creative juices for other things. No book reviews, no website development for my own personal projects, and doing just the bare minimum to keep my writing gigs live enough so I don't get shut off. As for my other projects that I've promised to finish...well...I've haven't  quite gotten around to them yet. 

Still trying to work on those, but seriously, I am just about "writing-ed out"! My brain is tired from all the thinking and organizing and making everything sound good for the work I am producing for my day job. I never thought I would say that, but I am. Secretively though, I'm really putting myself first, although on the surface it really doesn't look like it.

But all is not lost, but I see the end in sight. Hopefully by the end of the year, I will have completed my goal, paid off the last of our obligations, and if the work doesn't slow down, then maybe find a job that is less stressful and gives me more time to pursue my passion. I am counting the days. So in the meantime, my creativity juices are taking a break while my regular work takes a front seat until things settle down. 

Wishing you moments to stay focused on your goals and remember, when in doubt, put yourself first.

 

Like anything you see here? Then contact me, Susan Dusterhoft at todayswritingwoman@hotmail.com. I am always looking for more books/products to review. I can also provide assistance with blog writing!

No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service

Whatever happened to putting on clothes when going to the store? Seriously, it seems like that people have no sense of propriety when they leave the house these days. Now I am not a prude, believe me! But there is a time and place for everything.

The stores invented the "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service" policy for a reason. They don't want people to walk in half naked just to buy a six pack and some smokes. They want you to be dressed decently so as not to offend anyone. 

I remember a time when my mom and I would go to the grocery store. We would dress up because it was an outing for us. Now I see people going to the store in the pajama bottoms and UGG boats. Just today, I saw some young girls wearing just bikini tops and the absolute shortest pair of shorts I've ever seen. I know it's hot out and a holiday, but really?!?! At least put on a t-shirt and take a little pride in yourselves. For the life of me, I don't know who they were trying to impress, because I certainly wasn't. Apparently they haven't learned to "leave a little something to the imagination."

I may not dress up as much anymore, but at least I still wear clothes when I go outside or am in public. Perhaps I should think about those days when I used to dress nice and go shopping with my mom. I could start wearing more dresses and maybe...just maybe...I could be a role model for those young girls at the grocery store today.

Wishing you moments to dress to the nines!

 

Like anything you see here? Then contact me, Susan Dusterhoft at todayswritingwoman@hotmail.com. I am always looking for more books/products to review. I can also provide assistance with blog writing!