Waking up on the Wrong Side of 50

I have been going to body conditioning classes twice a week. During these classes we use free weights and body bars, as well as exercises to tone various muscles, such as squats and lunges.

So the other morning, I was in class and doing my plie’s. Legs hip width apart, toes pointed outward, I bent my knees. As I started lowering my body, I let out the loudest fart ever recorded in the history of workout classes.

I am grateful that the music in class was VERY LOUD.

My mindfulness and journal prompt for the week is celebration.

Here’s how it’s used in the books I’ve been reading:

1. Or the crowd could be celebrating her lanky older sister, with the straight, ashy bangs, who has finally, after some struggle, learned to read. Emily Henry
2. I was smarter than Christine. But she was happier because she celebrated all victories, real or false. Qian Julie Wang
3. When Herbert came, we went and had lunch at a celebrated house which I then quite venerated, but now believe to have been the most abject superstition in Europe, and where I could not help notice, even then, that there was much more gravy on the tablecloths and knives and waiter’s clothes, than in the steak. Charles Dickens
4. It’s human nature to strive for more, but if you want to cultivate an abundant mindset, you must also focus your energy and attention on noticing and celebrating the abundance of what you already have. Shira Gill
5. Stand By Me. Because despite being a film about a search for a dead body, it is a celebration of youth and friendship and life. Matt Haig
6. I took her by the hand and led her to the bus stop. Aminat stomped in the puddles and splashed water all around. I hardly reprimanded her, though, because my own heart was celebrating. Winter was fading; the snow was shrinking into itself and turning gray. The air was warming and filling with scents. The trees were still bare, but their branches had a new vitality. Alina Bronsky
7. Mama takes me over to a wall covered with hundreds of white bras, some with lace and little frills or doilies like party favors, as if undergarments are a cause for celebration. Parneshia Jones
8. Whether we’re lucky enough to have a big cosy kitchen or not, it is never just to store and prepare the food. We work in there to create the meals that celebrate the company of friends and family, where spontaneous kitchen discos can happen as we feel free to dance to the radio, a chance to let go and have some silliness in our lives. Kate Peers
9. Peter and I, feeling optimistic and festive, plan a party to celebrate our union. Delia Ephron

Here’s some thoughts that I am going to ponder when thinking about the word celebration:

1. Do people want to celebrate little things, or do we wait for BIG things?
2. Are people afraid to celebrate because others might not have the same things? Think Mother’s Day and Valentines
3. I’m reading a book of poetry that is supposed to be dedicated to women. Why does only one poem in the anthology contain anything about celebrating. Are woman not supposed to celebrate?
4. Does celebrating make one feel bad or does it put too much pressure on someone?
5. Do some people need to celebrate more than others?
6. Has celebrate become a bad word?
7. What’s the last think I celebrated and why did I celebrate it?
8. Why do quotes 2 and 4 resonate with me?

When you think celebrate, what thoughts does it bring to you?

I’m amidst spring cleaning and purging of unwanted items. When I was in my kitchen cleaning out drawers and cabinets, I began to seriously debate butter knives. I have six butter knives and six steak knives. Do I really need to keep the butter knives? Can all my cutting while eating needs be accomplished with just the steak knives?

Show of hands:

Who thinks butter knives are necessary for everyday use? Who think butter knives are outdated?

And while we are talking about knives…

The week of Mother’s Day sees three kinds of posts:

1. Those who ignore it completely
2. Those that embrace it fully
3. Those who remind us that maybe we shouldn’t be celebrating Mother’s Day

Every time someone writes something disparaging about Mother’s or Mother’s Day, they are writing against women. If a man writes something bad about mothers/mothering we call him a misogynist and cancel him. If a woman writes something bad, we call her a feminist and put her on the cover of a magazine. Why do we feel the need to sabotage ourselves? I have a rocky relationship with my Mother- this does not mean that I don’t think others who have better relationships with their Moms shouldn’t talk about it- in fact, I’d say it means we need to talk about it MORE. We know how bad parenting can affect us personally, so shouldn’t we work on it? To begrudge someone because you lack something they have is envy. If you live your life envying others, you will never be content or happy. You will just be the person who is looking for something external to make their life better. Why do we feel the need to tear down something that someone else might be proud of?

And while we are still talking about knives…

A few weeks ago someone told me to stop following them because I wasn’t positive (there will be a full post on this in a few months). The other day I saw that this blogger had posted the most negative comment on someone else’s blog. I made a very passive aggressive comment back to the blogger. Not my finest moment, but maybe if we find something bad about another, we should look to ourselves to see if we are the same way.