Tag: puzzles

Crazy, Compulsive Multi-tasker!

On By DGThomaIn Exercise, Family, Humor/Light Hearted2 Comments

Monday morning found me standing in the shower, the water flowing, deep in thought.  I reached for face wash and realized I was about to scrub my face with my toothbrush.  Still wearing glasses,  a fitness band circling my wrist, I paused.  For a moment I wondered if I should consider taking a step back and slow down.  Nope!  One of my favorite quotes, is “Someday I won’t be able to do this, but today isn’t the day.”

I am a compulsive multi-tasker as my husband, Ron will attest.  Every morning, I get to the car with more bags than I should carry.

Many mornings, I shut the car door, buckle the seat-belt and realize my phone,  purse, or lunch is missing.  I unbuckle, go back inside and backtrack to find the missing item.

When I sit down to view a television program, I gather a novel, a crossword puzzle or a sewing project or two.  If I’m working on a writing project at my computer, I will open a class I’m enrolled in or edit a different writing project.  Hey, it helps jump start the creative process.

This month, I am actively training for a half-marathon, taking 2 online classes, working 40+ hours a week, crocheting an afghan and working on a quilt.  I say actively, because I have many other projects, in various stages.  I don’t profess to be proficient at many of the things I tackle, but I enjoy attempting new things.

During a recent day off, I took an online class in calligraphy.  When Ron asked why, I smiled and replied, “It was free, and it was fun.”

I don’t sit still well and I love variety.  Ron, however, will stop what he is doing to give me his full attention when I talk to him.   What a wondrous ability he has to focus.

In my defense, we commute an hour plus each morning and each afternoon. That’s two hours I can write, crochet and brainstorm or anything else I can manage in a car.

The next project will be a weekend of soap making for the girls, at my house.  I want to learn the process.  Sharing the experience with my daughter, granddaughter and sisters will be a lot of fun.  I can’t wait!  If anyone has a favorite recipe or special tips, I would love to hear from you.

So am I the crazy one?   Probably, but If so I like this kind of crazy!

Puzzles

On By DGThomaIn Friends, Musings, WritingLeave a comment

Heart Puzzle

Puzzles…. there are jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, number puzzles, logic puzzles and the list goes on and on. Some people enjoy a nice challenging puzzle and other’s consider them frustrating or a waste of time. Whichever side of the debate you fall on, I think everyone would agree, that people can also be a puzzle.

Often, we think we can predict how people will react and we think we know exactly what the other person is thinking and saying. Watching people interact, I have discovered that people often say one thing but the listener actually hears something entirely different. By bringing our previous experiences to any interaction, we introduce bias in our relationships. Recently, I witnessed a situation, where by trying to protect each other, two people complicated everything. If each of them had just said what was on their mind without filtering by what they thought the other person wanted, they would have prevented a lot of confusion.

So even though I know that sometimes a filter is important, I am going to strive to listen and hear what people say to me. I will resist the tendency to form my answer before they finish talking. Hopefully it will make for a more enjoyable exchange.

Who knows, I might even solve a few puzzles along the way!