Edit, Add, and Appreciate

I stumbled upon Graceful Creative this weekend and have enjoyed reading from the archives.

One of the things I found there was the Sunday habit of reflecting on Edit, Add, and Appreciate. It is explained in this way:

Edit one thing: material objects, bad habits, negative thoughts, or activities that don't reflect who you are as a person. It doesn't have to be a physical thing; Sometimes bad habits and negative thoughts are more detrimental than physical clutter.

Add something: bring in something or reinvent one thing in your life- thoughs, habits, clothing, objects. Add something that will help you be a better person. And yes, sometimes a new pair of jeans can help.

Appreciate somebody or something that is already in your life. Hug your children and tell them how special they are. Call your spouse, just because. Be extra polite to the guy who makes your latte. Frame that piece of art.

Feel free to hop on and join us on Sundays.

Edit one thing: Somewhere over this past very busy week, I told myself it was okay to go over my limit on drinking pop. Just a little consolation prize to myself has turned into full blown debauchery in no time flat. I feel yucky, I don't sleep well, I'm embarrassed that I can't/don't do better. For everyone's sake, tomorrow needs to be judgement day for me and Dr. Pepper. I will replace all but two of my Dr. Peppers tomorrow with water, cold and sweet.

Add something: I am adding back into my schedule some time to write snail mail letters and cards. Thirty years ago, I set aside every Sunday evening to write letters- long and heartfelt- to several college age fellows. I wrote little notes of love and concern to people who were on my mind. In the simple act of faithful correspondence with others, I knew my self better. I would like to add that tradition back in, altered a bit now for an older woman with three teens and a husband and two demanding dogs.

Appreciate: Yesterday we went to my son's college to bring him home for the summer after his freshman year. My husband decided to make this trip a learning experience. He mapped out the scenic/non-freeway route and decided that my youngest (who has barely driven around the block a few times) was going to drive that route with him. She was excited and flattered that he thought she could to it, but she was scared too. It took them four hours to our two that it took my middle child and I to drive on the freeway, but that gift of his time and his confidence in her was monumental for her. She made it. Yes, she had to pull over often to let the long long line of cars impatiently driving behind her go around, but she stayed the course. So, for the trip back, he decrees that the middle child will drive back on the freeway- and she has only driven on the freeway once ever. He was very brave to ride with either of them on these maiden voyages, but I have every confidence that when they are teaching their own teens to drive, they will recount the day their dad "forced" them to stretch and grow. I admire him for the courage to be the passenger on these trips, for his kind and calm demeanor as he coached them through, and for the wisdom to know that the time was right.