Beyond Unitasking

The more I mull over this word I've chosen, the more I realize that it goes beyond just unitasking. Choosing to focus on something or someone also means that I'm choosing NOT to focus on something or someone.

I realized this today, home for our second snow day of the week.

The kids were outside, doing this: 

I wanted to be inside with this: 

 (and if I'm being totally honest, with my computer, too)

But instead, I decided to not focus on my wine and my computer. I went outside for this: 

and this: 

and this: 

Doesn't it look like Olaf is hugging Alice? 

I have so many things that distract me from what's going on around me, in and outside of my house. And really, a lot of these things can wait-- responding to emails, leaving comments on blogs, checking Facebook, Googling, pinning, looking for a job. Even the wine can wait, sometimes. (I'm drinking it now!) So yeah, FOCUS is also about priorities, about focusing my attention on the things that matter, on the moments that I won't get back again, like watching my three year old try to walk through snow that comes up to her knees and my 5 year old being buried in the snow by our neighbor.   How awful and mortifying would it be if the only thing my kids could remember about me is that I always had my nose in my phone or my ass on a chair, with my face in my computer?

No, I want them to remember me as the mom who joined them outside to help build a snowman (who are we kidding? I built the thing, they stuck sticks in it...).

That is meaningful, don't you think?

Oh, and here's the snow we got Monday and today. Between those two days, we ended up with a foot of snow. No filter on these photos. In today's picture, it is snowing,  hence the haze, if you can't tell...

Holidaying.

These are weird, in-between days. Henry has been on vacation since last Monday, the kids are out of school, of course and I still have all my regular mommy and housewife things going on, but at a slower pace.

Here's what I've been up to:

1. Alice was inspired by my 2013 reflection to write her own list. 2. I started off my 2014 Amazing Life work by looking back on 2013 in pictures. 3. My mom is an audiologist, so of course, I got hearing aid batteries in my stocking. 4. My younger sister got all the kids this awesome assortment of winter sports equipment to share! 5. Henry and I have wanted to get the girls MagnaTiles for a long time. We made it happen this year! 5. On Christmas Eve, we watched Christmas in Connecticut with my mom. 6. This little guy is such a dream. 7. It took awhile but I wrote down 100 things I want to do in 2014! 8. Alice was one happy kid on Christmas morning, thanks to Grandma! 9. I was so happy to be able to see my little brother before he leaves us for 6 months to study in Spain. 

I went to bed on Christmas with a little tickle in my throat that I chalked up to too much wine aggravating my acid reflux, but woke up in the middle of the night feverish and my throat on fire. I lay there thinking, I've got strep--I've got strep--I've got strep on a constant loop, unable to sleep and looking at my clock every 5 minutes to see if I could get up and drive myself to urgent care. Morning finally came and I was still alive and oh my god, so uncomfortably SICK because now all my joints were aching and my back was killing me. I texted my mother (of course) and begged her to drive me to urgent care but I finally came around to accepting that going to a doctor would do nothing, so I stayed under the covers. My mother took the girls for the day, leaving Henry and Micah to tend to me. I can't remember the last time I spent the whole day in bed. If I was going to get sick, I'm really glad I got sick when my mother was in town and Henry was off from work. Good timing there!
The problem with being so sick is that it feels like you'll be sick forever and you can't remember what it was like to not be sick and you don't know when this sickness is going to be over and couldn't it just be over already? Won't I wake up the next morning and feel like a new person?

Nope.

Each day has seen a gradual improvement but it is only today that I'm able to turn my neck--my lymph node was so swollen that I could barely look to my right or left. So, yay for that.

How about a closer look at that book pile?

From the bottom: 

1. This is a FL2W read that I still need to finish. It's really good but I had to put it down to start another book. 2. I'm looking forward to reading this one. I received it as gift from The Fund for Women and Girls Fairfield County. 3. This is my current read for FL2W. I can't wait to blog about this one. 4. I've been reading LoPate's book on personal essays for awhile, a chapter at a time, working on my personal essay skills. 5. This is another FL2W read that I need to finish. I can't wait for the Downton Abbey premiere! 6. I'll be participating in a blog tour for this book, and it couldn't come at a better time since Stella at three years of age is really knocking me for a loop! 

Speaking of books, I am woefully ashamed of my poor book reading record this year! According to GoodReads, I only read seven books this year. Can this be right? If it isn't on GoodReads, does that it mean it didn't happen? My memory is in such bad shape that I'm just going to have to take GoodReads at it's word. I resolve, I do, I do, to read more than seven damn books in 2014. Jeez. 

And a happy new year to you, too!