grit and glory

What is it that you need to accomplish? Is it THAT pressing?

I love the way you write… have you ever thought about writing fiction stories? You have great detail… I can almost see where you are as you describing the scene…

Oh, and I can’t for the life of me figure out how to upload an avatar. So you just have to suffer with my goofy pic that pops up on your page.
if you want to see what I look like you can visit my myspace page at

http://www.myspace.com/annaspafford

It is public… :)

maybe you should call one off your friends..
talk about the weather..
or jerry springer..
it sounds like everything is bigger and better in the good oll usa
happy 4th of july to all of alece’s friends from the DARK contenant.
where the stars are absolutely amazing tonight

anna — thanks for that link; it was great to see your smiling face. and thank you for your wonderfully kind compliments about my writing. i appreciate it a lot.

AB — well, things would be bigger and better if my man niel was here with me. you should tell him i said so. and that i’d love to lay on a blanket and look at the african stars with him. but, you know, only if you’re in the business of relaying messages. or ar you anti-that too?

I absolutely LOVE this line: If I’m gonna do nothing, that means no analyzing my nothing either.

My mom always sent us outside when we were bored too. Why is that?

“Nothing” is healthy after being on call 24/7 for weeks. Even though it is exciting, fun and something that you totally wanted to do - your nerves still get zapped and you need a recovery time. In all the books it is called “baby-blues” (postpartum depression). It will pass… and in the meantime… I am FYP. :-)

Way to get the last “L”.

I’m not sure how to answer your question about nothing.
I think you’ve had an exciting past month that was exhausting all in the same breath (but much more emphasis on the exciting, I know), that I think you’re entitled to a day of nothing-ness.

I think “nothing” becomes unhealthy when it turns into apathy, or a lack of motivation because you can’t see the big picture of why you’re doing what you’re doing.

We were created to sleep for a reason I think. Of course, you and I are fans of all things sleep– but it’s the only way we can force ourselves to .stop. sometimes- during the night.
I think it’s okay to stare at the ceiling fan, or to look out the window. And maybe a stroll might be nice. You could listen to your ipod–jam out to Angela Lansbury.

You’re very disciplined, and you get things done when they need to be. I really think today is a good day to do nothing.

I’d enjoy it, too.

Sometimes I hate that I analyze my thoughts so much.

Enjoy the break. Your to do’s will still be there when you are ready to face them.

I feel listless too.

@ngie — you know, all growing up my mom used to do that too. maybe it’s just ingrained in her, so it just came out of her again today. really, it was a good suggestion. too bad i didn’t take her up on it!

becca — i’m glad you enjoyed that “L”. you said “all things sleep” and it made me chuckle out loud. i sure do like all things sleep — you got that right. and while i could’ve listened to ol’ angela on my walk, i opted for my bed. and a brief nap. (!!) thanks for the encouragement about my general sense of discipline and telling me that nothing is ok…

natalie — they sure will. i need to try to not think about THAT either or it’s harder to enjoy the nothing.

michelle — what are you doing with your listlessness?

I haven’t been blogging for too many months, so it’s still kind of new.

Living with a chronic illness keeps me looking for ways to pass the time.

I read. I sleep. I swim.

I play with my puppy. She’s wonderful.

I think you NEED a few days of nothing… hide the to-do lists and force yourself to turn off that brain of yours.. and just be.

Enjoy your road trip… jam to some tunes… and leave everything else behind.

PS… I wish you were here.

Okay girl!!!

Enjoy your listlessness. I call it Selah. There will always be a tomorrow for lists. Don’t feel guilty. You have been on an emotional high for WEEKS. It’s okay to do nothing.

What do I do with listlessness…. nothin girl!!

grab a cup of Hazlenut Latte, curl up with your favorite pillow and blanket and watch a rerun of I love Lucy!!! Ha!!!

Ahhh….you are a kindred friend Alece. the more and more I read of you, I see a shared heart!
I think of a skein of yarn that is in knots or a chain necklace that has knots in it. Do you know how long it takes to un-do these knots?

I can remember a time when one of my daughters was restelss at nap time…..and I could SO relate. I had brought some sand home from the beach that day. I put it in a small jar, filled it and filled it with water. I took the jar, got jessie all snuggled in for a “rest”. I sat on the edge of the bed, sweeping her bangs off her sweet forehead. “Shhhh”…..I said, as I shook the jar gently. “You tell me Jessie, that you feel all mixed up inside….that is like the sand swirling in all different directions….” I set the jar on the night stand beside her bed. I explained to her that we all get that way at times and that we just need time to settle, to be still. I told her to tell me later how long it took the sand to settle.
She was not able to give me an answer later because she fell asleep before the sand acutally settled.
Rest….you need time to unwind you. :-)

michelle — i didn’t know… i liked that you said you play with your puppy — what kind of dog? what’s her name? i’m praying for strength for you today.

amers — on some level, i know i need it. it’s still hard for me to do, though. and while i long for sleeping in and doing nothing, i’d love to be with you right now, pulling first watch, changing diapers, and napping with peaberry.

heidi — thank you for the “permission”. sometimes i need to hear that i’m allowed to take things slow. that sounds cheesy but… it’s true. and as for selah — i’ve been aiming for that for a very long time… (here’s an old post of mine)

storie — wow. your comment was inspired. thank you for that. thank you thank you thank you.

ok here it is:
Me doing nothing all the time is LAZY!!
You doing nothing sometimes (and not over thinking it) is HEALTHY!!
And sounds like you should watch a few good movies too. Enjoy your rest!

Incredible blog!

Did mostly nothing today myself.

But did something good:
http://sharingnotes.blogspot.com/2008/07/its-quiet-details-in-childhood-that.html

Blessings,
Roxanne Kristina
http://www.sharingnotes.blogspot.com

mmm… thanks, faith!

and yes… i think over this long weekend i’ll hopefully spend some more down time curled up with my book, some law & order svu, and a few good movies.

RK — thanks for what you’re doing to assist kristi and daniel! they are doing a fantastic work in SA!

Great article on Selah. Loved it..

so true

thanks, heidi…

so are you still listless?

i just spent a few hours talking to a friend on the phone… that was the best part of my day!

hours????

I’m convincing my son to go to the er. We think he broke his arm. :(

yes! hours!?!? it’s crazy, i know. especially considering both of us typically have an aversion to phone conversations.

how old is your son? what did he do to his arm??? and i can’t believe you’re chatting with me at the same time!! that made me laugh, and then i felt badly about it… cause, well, you know… you son’s in pain and all! let me know what happens!

WEll look like I am going.

My son is 15, almost 6 ft tall. Has pain threshhold that is amazing.

I’m taking my laptop because I will be so bored.
See I’ll be spending the 4th at the er. yipee.
yeah I am laughing so hard too.

aversion to phone.. oh so yes me too.

was there any silent moments.. those are so wierd?

Silent moments aren’t too weird if you have them with that particular individual in person often. You know how the two of you act when there’s silence when you’re both there, so it seems less weird I guess.

the only problem with silent moments is when you really want to say something more but you just end up sighing

oh man… it’s already june 4th here on the east coast. happy fourth of july to me! sorry you’ll be seeing it start in the ER. i hope your son is ok. what’s his name? i love that you’re bringing your laptop; i’d feel compelled to do the same thing!

you don’t like talking on the phone either? i’ve discovered that i don’t mind (and can actually, dare i say it, enjoy) talking on the phone with people i am utterly comfortable with. but mostly, i avoid it at all costs. i will email or text or respond by mail, if those options are available to me, rather than call.

my friend and i have occasional silent moments. but not the awkward kind. not the ones where you’re both just racking your brain trying to think of something to say to end the deafening silence and keep the conversation rolling along. we have the silences where we are both pondering what wast just said, or feeling one another’s pain. silence between loved ones, in cases like this, can be wonderful.

it’s just like how i enjoy doing “nothing” with people i’m close to. i don’t need to be entertained; i don’t need every moment to be filled with activity. often my greatest memories involve my couch, someone i love, and a whole lot of nothing.

(if i wasn’t typing novella-length comments, i wouldn’t have “spoken” over you ladies!)

if my friend does that, i’ll gently “prod”. ask something or say something to encourage her to share what was behind the sigh. sometimes it’s nothing — and she’ll tell me that — sometimes she’ll talk some more.

but with anyone i’m not that close to? yeah… that is really hard.

this is elijah. my mom is driving me too the er so she will back in 5 minutes

haha.

hi elijah! you are hilarious. thanks for letting me know! i’ll be praying for your arm and the ER visit!

We are here and checked in. Of course half of san diego is here too. I hate the ER. cough.. sniff.. ugh

what do you guys think?

Hi Becca!!

i can’t believe you’re there and checked in and online already? nothing would happen that fast here in NY… and i’d be surprised if our local hospital had wifi available!

did elijah fall or something? how’d he hurt his arm?

and … becca’s the friend i was on the phone with, by the way! heidi, this is becca. becca, meet my new friend heidi.

Hi!
hehe.

Oh can you see my face red??? Hi Becca..

Because of your prayers we already had an xray and back in the room.

As a car estimator, my laptop has a wireless card, so I can go live anywhere. My car is my office and it charges it and so forth.

Elijah was carrying some cds in his pocket and he was riding and hit a curb and flipped, but the girl was important so he didn’t want to break the cds so he broke his arm… puppy love Ha!!!

red face? why? no, no, no… i asked becca to jump in on the anti-phone/3-hour conversation/what about the silence dialogue we were having on here. i figured she’d have good thoughts to add, since we three are a little similar in all these topics…

i’m so glad the x-rays were done already… speedy speedy!

awww… it was actually sweet to hear about elijah’s accident. i hope GIRL is appreciative… (ha!)

(oh — and awesome about your wireless card. i need to get me one o’ those!)

Hair line fracture to the forearm .. we are in a splint and is going to get a tetanus shot. Ouch!!
then off to home.

still better than being broken! that’s great.

i hate shots. give elijah a thumbs’ up from me… he’s a tough cookie.

get home safe. and happy fourth of july!

You too.. I’ll talk to you soon

one more minute… Happy 4th of July to me.

Hey we are so NOT done on the silence talk.

soon..

lovin and prayin

oh good. looking forward to part 2 of that talk!

ciao!

:-) it’s all good friend….mwah!

I HATE being listless. It sucks. I usually walk, don’t know why that helps. Or I use it as a chance to let the Lord “settle” me…which, by the way, is pretty amazing. He always impresses me when He can just change an emotion in me. It’s like the one thing (Ha! or one of many, many things) that I cannot do no matter how hard a try or what I tell myself. I really think God is the only one who can settle a restless heart.

= my thoughts.

and HAPPY 4th! We’re all sportin’ the red, white and blue today. lol, Thrive looked like a cheesy music video this morning.

So, of course we’re hitting up Spur tonight. All 75 (!) of us. holy cow….get ready for a VERY LOUD rendition of “Born in the USA”.

lol, wish you were here too, with you’re red, white and blue!

I think you are so used to being overly busy — ministry, writing, emailing, traveling, co-parenting. Relax. Or come see me.

My dog is a miniature schnauzer chihuahua mix - we call her a schnauhuahua. She’s adorable, fiercly loyal and extremely smart.

Watching Friends is fun pastime.

kelly — i really enjoyed all your listless thoughts. and man i’m really missing being there today. have fun at the spur. wave a sparkler for me!!

yeller — awww…

michelle — i need to see your dog! miniature schnauzer is actually my dream breed to own; but i can’t imagine what that would look like mixed with a chihuahua! (i had to use spell check to spell that!)

Oh my goodness, you have perfectly described what happens in my life SO often. I haven’t figured it out yet, either.

i’m not the only one?!?!

hmm….nothing would be nice right about now. Umm…..Spur was funny, I was actually a little embarrased by the All out American display. So I am finding that I am missing you more each day, as I remember last year or could use some wishdom (16 is a lot of OS)…tomorrow we are headed to RN (I can’t really say it because it is a surprise and some of my OSers read your blog!) and it makes me think of last year. Fun times!

mmm… thanks for saying i’m missed. that means a lot. i can’t believe we’ve got 16 OSers there and i’ve not met them. SHAME!! i’m praying for you!! and let me know how RN goes. last year was fun times!

she makes me proud for not blogging…. way to go alece

HUMBUG!!