Choose Carefully

I’m coming off the heels of a marvelous bicycle trip on the George S. Mickelson Trail in South Dakota and preparing for another bike trip on the Constitution Trail in Bloomington/Normal Illinois.  Both trips are being taken with wonderful people in terrific settings.  Both trips require planning, commitment, and a break from routine.

Choosing to take a break from routine and ride that 109 mile trail over three days with such wonderful people was a wise choice, indeed!  Katie, Jenny, Bob, Patty, and Ann – thank you for the ride.  Thank you for being inspirational travel companions, each in your very own ways.  Katie, Jenny, and Ross – I can’t wait for our upcoming trip, and am so glad we chose to delay by a few days.

This break from routine is often where I struggle, as I’ve written about in the past.  I’m a sucker for routine, and struggle when it is jilted.  But it is the break from routine that opens up opportunities like these two bike trips offer.

I like to strike a balance between careful planning & maintaining routine with letting loose and being carefree.  I don’t know if a true balance exists in my reality, but both approaches certainly have merit.  So, I try to choose carefully.

Choose Who

I try to choose carefully who I spend time with.  It really seems to hold true:  who you spend time with is who you become.  There are good, good humans occupying this Earth.  Seek them out, learn from them, choose to spend time with them.

Choose How

I try to choose carefully how I spend my time.  I am blessed with fairly work-free summers.  I’m not comfortable letting the days unfold naturally:  I’m a list-maker and a doer… sometimes to a fault.  It can be hard to relax – this continues to be a work in progress.

Alone time is something I am also blessed with:  the boys are raised, and we are near empty-nesters.    That alone time does much for reflecting and decompressing.   Running and bicycling can be my preferred solo activities, as so much reflecting and decompressing happen then.

Choose What and How Much

I try to choose carefully what and how much I consume:  food, drink, news, and literature.  There is much room for growth on the nutrition front, but aren’t we so lucky to have access to a plethora of information about good nutrition???  Lots of room for growth, here, on my part.

I have found myself creeping further and further away from news this summer.  It is the recognition of how news consumption can set a negative tone for the day that has led me away from that routine lately.  Listening to and reading from several news sources is part of my morning routine, but one that I’ve largely escaped this summer.  It can just be too much.

Last summer, I carefully chose to work my way through nine books.  All nine were connected to the science of reading; many had been sitting on my to-read shelf for some time.  I think I made it through four of the nine by the end of summer, but was satisfied with the effort.  I’m choosing fewer books this summer, and perhaps with less-careful planning, but am reading some professional books, all the same.  Of course, I highly recommend each:

• MTSS for Reading Improvement by Sarah Brown and Stephanie Stollar
• The Ladder of Reading and Writing by Nancy Young and Jan Hasbrouck
• Making Words Stick by Molly Ness and Katie Pace Miles

For pleasure, I am reading Fredrik Backman’s My Friends – this is going to be one of those that I will read slowly and savor each page.  It’s a really, really good one.  Bachman is one skilled writer!  In addition, I’m listening to Paullina Simon’s The Bronze Horseman.  I can’t wait to do dishes, pull weeds, fold laundry, or water plants, as all allow me to get back into this book.  It’s a really, really good one.

Choose to do for Others

I try to choose carefully to do for others.  This is a big work in progress, especially when I observe what others to do to serve.  I have lots of room for growth.  My childhood best friend, Amy, lost her dad this past week.  Danny and his surviving wife JoAnn, are such good people.  They choose to serve others and their community.  They chose to allow me to be part of their family throughout my childhood.  Thank you, Danny and JoAnn.  Rest in peace, Danny.

Choose When

I try to choose carefully when to speak, and when to listen.  I continue to find that listening, rather than speaking, is often the better choice.  Sometimes our deeply held convictions compel us to speak up (a good thing), but can interfere with our ability to truly listen as a means to understand.  A work in progress, for sure.

All of which, I suppose, is a way to say:  Choose carefully what you pour your energy into.  Stop and smell those roses, do for others, and live with intention.