Less in 2025: December

Somehow it's the final Monday of December and the final Monday of the year. I know that every year I complain that time has gone by too quickly, but this year seems to have been especially fast. As we prepare to draw the curtain on 2025, I have to thank Kat for hosting our monthly One Little Word link-ups each month.

When I chose LESS as my word for 2025 at around this time last year, I couldn't have predicted how my life would change in the months ahead. All I knew at the time was that simplifying my life sounded good. Who could have guess that just a handful of months into the year, life would get a whole lot more complicated and busy?

While welcoming a puppy into our home meant much more work and more stuff (and the resulting less sleep and less free time), what I didn't anticipate was that caring for Ruthie would mean less time to focus and perseverate on the small things that in the past would have taken up residence in my head. Being focused on the here and now means less time and energy to think about the what-ifs, and for a worrier, that's a good thing. Especially given the current state of the world, it's been a relief to focus on things like when the dog last went out for a walk or if I need to order more dog food rather than whether I've lost any more personal rights on a daily basis.

Less also has proved to be a great word for me this year because it's helped me to cede some control and let go of some things that I previously would have had a hard time doing. One of the side effects of having less time to myself is that I've found I care less about looking perfectly put-together all the time. Years ago I never would have dreamed of going into work without a full face of makeup and styled hair. These days, I'm perfectly comfortably going in with a bare face and my dirty hair pulled back. I've realized (probably very late in the game) that no one else really cares whether or not I'm "done up" and that it's more about feeling good about myself -- confidence shows.

Finally, though it wasn't my main reason for choosing Less this year, it's been a main theme of how I've approached my job (especially since adopting Ruthie!). Since our leadership change about a year and a half ago, it's become very apparently to me that few people outside my immediate team at work had any idea of what I do and thus didn't value my efforts -- not to mention that our vice chancellor has decreed that no one can receive higher than "satisfactory" on their annual review even if their supervisor thinks their efforts are extraordinary. I realized earlier this year that my performance could be just as good if I actually spent less time on any given project and there was no need for my previously very time-intensive process and that putting in extra effort wouldn't benefit me in any way in any case. It's proved to be a good decision because I've been given more work and more responsibilities as the year has gone on, so needing less time for my editing process has enabled me to get the work done without getting too stressed out.

I don't plan on having a word for next year, unless one appears and insists upon it in the next couple of days, in which case Less has been an excellent wrap-up to my One Little Word experience. Each year I've had a word, it's led me to reflect on my inner life, to take stock of my values, and to focus my intentions. What Less has taught me this year is that it's okay to not do everything, to be less than perfect, and to simplify my life in favor of what matters most. I know I'll be carrying the lessons of this year with me for a long time.

Less in 2025: November

It's the final Monday of the month, so it's time for my penultimate check-in with my One Little Word.

When I think of Less this past month, the first thing that comes to mind is that there is less daylight. The days are getting noticeably shorter, and even in the middle of the day, the sunlight is weaker. While in the summer, I was able to sit with Ruthie in the afternoon with all the lights off, I need the lights on now to see what I'm reading or working on. This is probably my least favorite thing about the fall and winter; I don't like the cold, but being a knitter, I know how to properly dress for it. I can't do anything about the lack of light, though, and it definitely has an effect on my mood. This year, I'm hoping that many of my neighbors put up twinkle lights to bring some extra light to the dark evenings.

Another area of Less this month has been a fewer number of daily walks with Ruthie. She is 11 months old today, and she doesn't need to go out as often. We're down to about five bathroom breaks a day now, which includes first thing in the morning, when we literally just go next door. I take her for three longer walks during the day (generally 0.75 miles to 1.1 miles, according to my Apple Watch), and as of the last week or so, she hasn't wanted to walk when we go out right before bedtime and instead has done her business next door. I know that on the really frigid days of winter, that's going to be very welcome! 

I don't think Kat is hosting a link-up for this OLW update or on Wednesday, but I will be back with an Unraveled update. In the meantime, enjoy your Monday!

Less in 2025: October

It's been a whirlwind of a month, so it's probably not surprising that I completely forgot that yesterday was the last Monday of the month and my day to check in with my One Little Word. So a day late, a dollar short? Thanks to Kat for hosting our monthly link-ups!

This month, there has been Less of many things -- free time, daylight, warm weather, etc. But what stands out right now is less patience. Ruthie is now 10 months old and firmly in her adolescent phase, so she is constantly testing me. In the last several weeks, she has starting getting very nippy and demanding, especially when we're trying to eat a meal. True to her terrier DNA, she's always been a digger, and now she has starting "digging" under the cover on the couch, usually while I'm trying to cook dinner. And when we go on walks, she often tries to jump on passers-by or leap out into traffic at cyclists. I'm trying really hard to focus on positive reinforcement, but I'll admit that at the end of a long day, it's really hard not to yell "No! Stop!" repeatedly. So far I've only had to put her in her crate once to keep her out of trouble while I finish cooking, but it may very well be necessary again. I keep reminding myself that these days won't last forever and that we will keep working on the good behavior. And she's already come so far from just six months ago.

On the plus side, there has been much less early morning barking! I think she is finally understanding that I will come down around the same time every morning and she doesn't need to announce that she's awake. Occasionally there's a yip or two, but I think that may be due to her hearing something outside or dreaming. Getting enough sleep is certainly helping me be calmer!

Less in 2025: September

Dear friends, can you believe that we are almost finished with the wonderful month that is September? It's usually one of my favorite months because of the weather, the holidays, the start of the school year, and all that. It was a busy September this year, but I'm not letting it pass by without checking in on my One Little Word. Thank you to Kat for hosting our link-ups this year.

Less has shown up in a few different ways this month, but the biggest is that there has been a lot less in my checking account -- it's been a very expensive month! First, there was Ruthie's spay surgery, which was planned for and expected but still a big bill. Then, I did something I'd never done before: I dropped my cell phone and smashed the glass. Molly said it was the universe's way of telling me that it was time for a new phone; I'd actually been thinking about getting a new one soon anyway, because my old one was an iPhone 11 from 2020, but this decided it. There was the cost of the new phone plus a new case and new charger (because of course none of the accessories I had for the old phone would work with the new one). Then, about three days after the phone arrived, it flew out of my hand while I was out on a walk and the glass broke in the exact same place. Never before had I broken the glass on a phone and I managed to do it twice in a week! Fortunately, with Apple Care, I was able to get the glass replaced and paid only a reasonable service fee. And that was not the end: The Mister celebrated his birthday last week, and he is notoriously hard to buy gifts for (mainly because when there's something he wants, he just buys it for himself), so when he said he'd found a piece of luggage he really wanted, how could I say no? All of this is to say that my expenses have exceeded my income this month and it's a good thing I'm a saver -- and that I've been knitting from stash this year!

There has also been less running this month. I started having some pain in my left knee several weeks ago, so I pulled out my trusty knee brace. It helped, but the discomfort was still there, so I figured the best thing to do was rest. I've only run once a week for the past couple of weeks and it's helped a lot; I would have stopped altogether were it not for the race this past weekend -- I didn't want to go into it having not run at all recently. I've noticed it's been feeling better, and clearly my reduced running time did not impact me in the least, because I had a new PR in the 5K:

I finished 13th (out of 183) in my age group, 95th (out of 1,318) among women, and 321st (out of 2,399) overall. My previous record for this race was last year's 27:14, so I really blew it out of the water. And I was not at all expecting it! I was hoping to be around 26 minutes, but I guess the adrenaline really gave me an extra boost this time. Now that the race is over, however, I'm going to give my knee more time to heel and probably will be sticking to walking for a while. And here's hoping that translates to Less knee pain in October!

Less in 2025: August

Can you all believe that it's the last Monday of the month, already? Maybe it's the start of the school year or the noticeable shift in the length of the days, but I've really felt the days slipping by lately. As it is the final Monday of the month, that means it's time for a One Little Word check-in. Thank you to Kat for hosting our monthly link-ups!

Less has been prevalent in many ways for me this month. Less daylight for sure (boo) but also less humidity (yay!). In the last week or so, there has been less barking from Ruthie when she wakes up, so maybe she's learning that I will come down at the same time every morning and she doesn't need to raise the alarm. There has been less procrastination, as I called and scheduled Ruthie's spay surgery (Tuesday, September 9).

To follow up on something from earlier in the year (the "less of me" bit), I can report that I'm holding steady and have discovered that the weight I've lost has likely been due to increased physical activity from walking Ruthie. I've started tracking my walks with her on my Apple Watch and have found that on the days that I run, I am burning close to 1,000 calories, at least if the watch can be believed. So it's no wonder that without making up for that, I've dropped a few pounds. I'm trying to be more mindful about making sure I'm eating enough, and part of that is being less hard on myself if I need a snack.

With the start of the school year today, I'll soon have less time to myself, as I'll have to do the pick-up (and sometimes drop-off) routine every day again. It's been lovely to sit with a snoozing puppy until late afternoon most days, but I'm reminding myself that picking Molly up from school means about 10 minutes every day of one-on-one time -- something that's so hard to get with a teenager.

One thing there hasn't been less of this month? Tomatoes! I picked another dozen over the weekend! I also did a Costco run on Saturday, so I made sure to get some fresh mozzarella so I can have Caprese salads all week! 

Less in 2025: July

Somehow it is the last Monday of July and it will be August by the end of the week. How that happened, I'm not sure, but I think we can all agree the year is flying by. As it's the last Monday of the month, that means it's time to check in on my One Little Word. Thanks to Kat for hosting our monthly link-up!

This month, particularly the end of this month, there has been LESS worry and anxiety, especially with regard to Ruthie. I know you're all aware of how worried I was about how she and the Mister would do alone together while Molly and I were in Nashville. You all told me it would be fine and good for them, but there was a lot of negativity before we left and I really wasn't convinced. And aside from that, I'd also had some moments of frustration and had been questioning whether the decision to adopt a dog when the Mister wasn't fully on board was the right one. But when we got home and found out that not only did they both make it through but she had no accidents and didn't bark at him the whole time we were gone, I felt so relieved and reassured. It's clear that I will forever be her favorite person, but I'm seeing better interactions between the two of them -- and it's not just that Ruthie is more tolerant of the Mister, it's also that I see him willingly spending time with her and trying to get her to come to him.

All this is not to say that the stress of having a puppy is totally gone, but I think enough time has passed that I've gotten some perspective on the early days and can see how far we've come. And with every day that passes, we get closer to leaving the puppy period behind. Maybe one day I'll even miss it (though not the pre-6 a.m. wakeups)!

Because a post related to Ruthie is not complete without a photo of her, here is a portrait of the new branch manager:

Less in 2025: June

Is anyone else in absolute shock that today is the last day of June? Despite the longer days, this month always seem to pass much faster than I'd like, but this year it seemed especially quick, I suppose because I lost some days due to illness (mine and Ruthie's).

So how has Less made itself apparent in my life this month? Several ways.

To start with, there's certainly Less in my wallet after trips to the vet, urgent care, the pharmacy, and the vet twice more (to pick up meds). I'm sure in the long run, my health care is a lot more expensive, but the bills were certainly bigger for Ruthie this month!

There is also these days Less of me. Those of you who have been reading for a long time might remember that several years ago, when my cholesterol was starting to get a little high, I made some major changes to lose weight and get it down, and I've been maintaining my weight ever since. But this month, in spite of more than a few days of not exercising at all (first because I was ill, then because of the extreme heat), I've lost more weight. I know part of it is due to anxiety about the aforementioned illnesses; when I'm really worried about something, I lose my appetite. But I think another part of it has been because it's rare these days to find me sitting down, especially at a mealtime. Keeping an eye on a puppy who is always getting into mischief can be a full-time job, and it can be even more challenging at breakfast and lunch when I'm the only one here with her. It is ironic that I'm losing weight without trying or wanting to for probably the first time ever in my life! I am keeping an eye on it, just in case it's not my increased level of physical activity and something that merits seeking medical attention, but for now I'm just trying to make sure I'm eating enough.

On a more positive side, this month there's also been Less to-do about puppy bedtime. Hearkening back to when Molly was little and demanded I stay with her until she fell asleep, I had been sitting with Ruthie in the evening after her final walk, letting her curl up and fall asleep in her bed, and then trying to transfer her to her crate and leave before she woke up. Kym told me that I was pretty much nuts to do that (well, she said it using much nicer words) because I was letter Ruthie have all the control. Instead, she advised, say goodnight, put her in her crate, and leave her. And naturally she was right. We have a bedtime routine now -- I sing a little to her (I changed the words of "Goodnight, Ladies" from The Music Man to "Goodnight, Ruthie), put her in her crate and pet her for a minute, then close the door and leave. For the first week and a half or so, she cried and barked for up to an hour. Lately, though, she has been great. I hold her when I start to sing and then put her down in front of her crate, and she goes right in and curls up. If we hear anything from her, it's either a noise she's making in her sleep or there's something outside she's barking out, and it's usually very brief. I'm hoping one day we'll get to the point where she puts herself to bed, but I have a feeling we've got a while until that happens. In the meantime, I'm enjoying our little snuggles and then having my evening back.

Thank you to Kat for hosting our monthly One Little Word link-ups! Be sure to visit her post for today to read her reflection and get links to others'.

Less in 2025: May

It's the final Monday in May, Memorial Day here in the United States. So it's both a day off for my family and a day to reflect on my One Little Word. Thank you to Kat for hosting our monthly link-up this year!

Whereas Ruthie's arrival last month meant less of most things, in May things settled a bit into a new normal, and that's meant LESS of some of the not-so-great things of new pet ownership. For one thing,  this month I've noticed a lot LESS anxiety -- fewer moments of second-guessing whether adopting a pet was a good idea, less worry in general about doing the right thing with her, and generally less uncertainty. I think it goes without saying that the increase in confidence and comfort comes from time passing and experience. Just as Ruthie is getting more comfortable with us, we are all getting more used to her and what life is like with her. A huge help in this regard has been her ability to sleep through the night, which means that I'm back in my bedroom and have some time in my evenings back. And while there's still been the occasional inside accident, she's been doing great with her potty training.

Another big area of improvement has been LESS timidity on Ruthie's part. She's still very cautious around new people, but she's definitely been doing better, and I think a big help with that has been meeting other dogs (and their people) in the neighborhood. Remember Bagel the dog? His owner lives just down the street, and we've run into her with Bagel (and his 11-year-old deaf sister, Star) several times, and she invited us into her house one afternoon recently so the puppies could play for a while. That was a huge hit. Ruthie also regularly plays with several dogs on the next street over -- Dusty the mini Aussie (who's a month older than her) and Penny and Jake the Westies -- who we see most days on our walks. And of course she did a great job at my parents' last weekend and let both of my parents pet her a little this past Friday night, when they had us over for dinner. There's still a lot of work to do, but she's making progress. I think her puppy kindergarten class, which starts next weekend, will help her a lot.

On a more personal note, this month I marked one LESS blood donation toward my goal of six (the maximum possible in a year). I was worried about my hemoglobin being high enough because my iron was low when I had my recent bloodwork done, but I think it was likely because that was done not long after my last donation. My number was one of the highest I've recorded in my years of donating, so I needn't have worried. Another positive is that I noticed I needed LESS time to get back to my usual running after this donation; usually it takes me several weeks before I have my typical stamina back, but this time it took me only week before I was able to run a 5K (3.1 miles) without having to stop. 

What I don't think I anticipated when I picked LESS as my word this year is that there's an inherent reciprocal relationship with MORE. Less stress means more enjoyment, and that's certainly been very true this month. As I've had less worry and anxiety about having a dog, there's been more capacity for appreciating the fun and love that comes with having this new member of our family. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plays out the rest of the year.

Less in 2025: April

It's the last Monday of the month, so it's time to check in on my One Little Word. Thank you to Kat for hosting our monthly link-ups!

I didn't have to think too hard about how Less has made itself known in my life this past month because frankly there's been less of just about everything: Less sleep. Less exercise. Less knitting. Less reading. Less time to myself in general. Those of you who have had a puppy (or a new baby!) know how it goes. But it's just a season of life and will pass. And as Ruthie has gotten settled in and used to a schedule, there's been less/fewer of some of the not-so-pleasant aspects of this period in time, like accidents in the house and wake-ups in the middle of the night. I'm looking forward to the trends continuing in that direction.

There's also been less baking and roasting thanks to the ovens dying -- but that's almost over, as our new ovens are scheduled to be installed today!

Less in 2025: March

I probably sound like a broken record, but I really do feel like this month has flown by and I'm a bit shocked that this is the last day of March! It feels fitting, though, that the final Monday of the month is also the final day of the month and thus time to do my One Little Word reflection. Thank you to Kat for hosting our monthly link-ups!

When I picked Less as my OLW for this year, the main thing on my mind was having less stuff. Yarn and fiber were certainly top of mind, but in general I have been feeling a need to simplify my life in terms of the stuff I have in my house that isn't used.

A big category of that stuff is clothes. Now that I'm no longer going into the office every day (and now that our dress code at work seems to have gotten a bit more casual), there's a lot of office wear that's just not getting worn. On top of that, I've still got a lot of clothing from my heavier days that's too big. I'm trying to go through my closet and drawers regularly to pull out items that aren't being used so that they can be put back into use somewhere else. I've got a three-fold plan for these things:

1. Items that are high quality and in good shape get sent to ThredUp. I've been sending them stuff for a couple of years now, since Kym first put the site on my radar. I've made a little extra money, nothing huge, but I like the idea that clothes are finding new life in someone else's closet or being recycled responsibly.
2. Items that are cheaper but still in good shape get donated to places like Goodwill or the Free Store.
3. Items that are stained, torn, worn out, or generally low quality I take to drop in a bin at work for textile recycling. They'll even take my worn-out shoes!

I think you all know by now that I've been actively trying to reduce the size of my stash, which means using what I have and not buying more in general. But one area where I'm feeling particularly overwhelmed is my handspun. Every time I go into my stash to try to find a specific skein of handspun, I find more skeins I've forgotten about. So I think I'm going to open an Etsy store again. I don't love Etsy because they nickel-and-dime you, but there aren't really any alternatives that will take care of shipping and taxes and all that (and I don't have the time or energy to try to set up my own site with all of that integrated). I had an Etsy store several years ago, but I'm going to rebrand and start over. Molly has gotten quite good at using Canva, so she's helping me with a logo. And at some point I'll have to take ALL the handspun out, organize it, and start photographing and putting it up. There are so many skeins that I enjoyed spinning but that I just don't feel like I need to use, so if someone else will, I'll be happy to pass them along. I'll let you know when that's all set up, just in case you're interested (no pressure!).

I'm sure I'll be coming back to this same theme for Less throughout the year, and we'll see just how much I can clear out of the house by the end of it!

LESS in 2025: February

While January seemed to go on forever, February has flown -- I can't believe it's already the last Monday of the month and time to check in with my One Little Word! Thanks for Kat for hosting our monthly link-ups this year.

My general approach to this year's word is, as the word suggests, diminishment. In many respects, that can take the form of a reduction of physical things -- and I expect to come back to that meaning over the course of the year. But early on, I'm focusing more internally. Last month, it was about less negative self talk. This month, it was about doing a lot LESS procrastination.

For the better part of the past year, I've gotten into the habit of making myself a daily to-do list. I'm the kind of person who derives a lot of satisfaction from crossing things off a list, and that's especially the case on the days when it seems like I haven't done all that much because it reassures me that I have accomplished something. And I've also discovered that if I put something on the list, I am more likely to do it. So those things that I've been putting off, either because they're going to require some time or force me to make a phone call (I hate talking on the phone)? I've sort of tricked myself into doing them by putting them on a to-do list. 

Here's an example: This past weekend, I finally went to get my Real ID because my driver's license was up for renewal anyway. To get the Real ID, I needed a bunch of documents that I knew I had but not exactly where. So on the to-do list last week was to locate those documents -- which I did, and in the process, I also cleared out some old files with documents I didn't need (receipts for oil changes for the car I sold in 2018; old cell phone bills), meaning there's now less to sort through when looking for other important documents. The next big thing to take care of is getting Molly a new passport, which means we'll need to get out her birth certificate, get photos, and make an appointment to submit the application. But I've already filled it out, and that's the first step!

LESS in 2025: January

I am both excited and a little dismayed that today is the final Monday in January; on the one hand, it's my least favorite month of the year and I'm eager to wish it farewell, but I'm also a little concerned that the year is already going by so quickly. But the final Monday of the month also means it's time to check in with my One Little Word.

There are lots of ways that Less has made itself known in my life this month (and I certainly hope that continues to be the case all year), but I'm choosing to focus on just one. First, a little background.

Many of you are probably aware that since the early days of the pandemic, getting daily exercise has been key to my mental health. I will fully admit that I've gotten a little obsessed with exercising -- and all things considered, if I'm going to have an obsession, at least exercise is a healthy one. I'm not one of those people who works out all day, but I do try to get at least an hour of physical activity in every day. Back when this first started, I was wearing a Fitbit and thus was very focused on my step count, aiming to hit 10,000 steps every day to keep a streak alive. When something prevented me from hitting that goal, be that illness or injury or demands on my schedule, I'd feel really guilty about it. 

Late last year, I finally made the switch over to an Apple Watch, which does track steps but instead focuses on three rings: exercise, movement, and standing. The watch encourages you to close all three rings every day by hitting a certain number on your activity ring, a certain amount of time in your exercise ring, and a certain number of hours in which you've stood up for at least a minute. You can manually adjust all of these, but I chose to keep the factory settings: 720 for activity, 60 for exercise, and 12 for standing. Most days I have no trouble closing my rings, but there have been a few days (like the days we traveled to Florida and home and were sitting in a car or plane for most of the day) when I did not close my rings.

Past Sarah would have chastised herself for not hitting her daily goals and thought of herself as lazy. She would have felt guilty about not only not meeting those daily goals but also breaking streaks. But 2025 Sarah is trying to engage in Less negative self-talk and guilt. I've been working on reminding myself that one day, in the grand scheme of things, doesn't have a whole lot of impact. My focus is on health and physical fitness and not because I have a goal of being an elite athlete but because I want to be able to be healthy and able to keep moving long into the future. I have a feeling that breaking my foot has a lot to do with this because it forced me to realize that there are always limitations on what I can do and I have to make the best of my circumstances at any given time. The focus should be on moving my body as much as I'm able to on any given day. Some days that will mean a vigorous workout. Some days it might mean just moving around the house. It all averages out in the end, and every day is another opportunity, so focusing on any one day isn't really helpful. In other words, don't miss the forest for the trees!

Thank you to Kat for hosting our OLW link-ups this year!

Bits and Pieces

It is our last full day on vacation in Florida, and it's going to be hard to say goodbye to the warmer temperatures (particularly as the Mister just brought up video of our Ring doorbell showing the snow falling at home). But I am looking forward to being back in my own bed, reconnecting with my stash and my home library, and getting back into my normal routine -- even if I'm not really looking forward to going back to work on Monday.

I was successful in not overpacking on the knitting and have just one WIP remaining, my sweater, which is now just a few rounds away from completion of the yoke:

This is a project that has required my full attention because every round has slightly different instructions, so I have ended up not working on it as much as I thought. Once the yoke is complete, however, it should move faster. Interestingly, the pattern has you work the sleeves before the body, which I know many people do on their own so they don't have the weight of the body to deal with as they work the sleeves; I typically like to get the body done first because the sleeves go faster for me and because the way I work the sleeves doesn't involve moving the whole garment around. But I'm willing to try anything!

Today will involve some laundry and some packing, though thankfully packing to go home is a lot easier than packing to go on a trip -- everything we brought just has to be put back in the suitcase. My parents are also staying a couple of days after we leave, so if somehow we forget something, they'll bring it back for us. The weather here has been cooler than average, so we're unlikely to be outside much. I guess the universe is preparing us to be back in the cold!

Yesterday I spent some time writing in my journal for the first time in a long time; it's a practice I want to get back into this year. I needed to take a break from it for a while because I had started writing every day during the pandemic and I didn't want what used to be a pleasurable practice to be associated with the anxiety of that time. I doubt I'll ever be a daily journal writer again, or at least not while I'm still working, but I'd like to at least create a habit of writing every now and then. And I specifically wanted to put down some thoughts on paper to start the year because I wanted to use it to launch my One Little Word for 2025. I haven't been selecting a word for as many years as some of you, but it's become a way to regularly focus and reflect on my life and the work I'm doing on me. Here's a recap:

2020: Savor
2021: Balance
2022: Growth
2023: Embrace
2024: Better

So what's my word for 2025?

I'm excited to see where this word takes me this year and why it was shouting so loudly for me to pick it!

I hope you all have a good first weekend of the new year. Please send any good travel mojo you have our way tomorrow so that we can get home without incident!

Better in 2024: December

It's the final Monday of December and the final Monday of 2024, which means it's time to do my final accounting of my One Little Word.

It feels fitting that after a year with a number of health challenges for me, the final month of it would be focused primarily on getting physically Better -- specifically, focused on healing and strengthening my foot after my break. Yesterday marked nine weeks since the accident in which I broke my foot, which seems like ages ago and also quite recently. This injury put such a damper on my physical abilities that even for me, a person who thrives on routine and habit, felt exasperating. Early on, my foot hurt and it was hard to get around, so I didn't feel the loss of my relative freedom much. But as things have started to improve, I've gotten a bit stir crazy.

Things definitely started to look up when I had my follow-up appointment with the orthopedist earlier this month. More x-rays were taken of my foot at that visit, and they showed that while I wasn't completely healed, progress had been made. It was actually pretty extraordinary to see the new bone that had grown in between the fragments of the one that broke! Because of that healing, the doctor told me to start moving around the house without the boot and gave me physical therapy exercises to do to increase my strength and flexibility.

It felt extremely strange to take off the boot for those first few days -- remember that for five weeks, I'd only taken it off to shower and once or twice to air it out. For several days, I had a pins-and-needles sensation in my right foot and lower leg as it adjusted to normal blood flow and movement. And the foot was tender, so I was very cautious getting around and especially so when dealing with steps. Those PT exercises were difficult at first, especially the one that required me to stand on my right foot and slowly go up on my toes. But as with all things that are hard at first, with time, they've gotten easier. The pain had diminished to just an occasional discomfort at this point, and I can move my foot around in all directions. I can walk normally around the house, and I'm at the point that when I put the boot back on to go outside, it feels strange again. I expect that when I return to the doctor next week, I'll get the okay to start wearing normal shoes and walking around outside again, though I also expect I will have to work at building back up to my previous strength and pace and it will be months yet before I can try running.

This injury has been been a major pain, both literally and figuratively, but it's also been humbling in that it's reminded me what it's like to be a beginner at any skill. At each stage of my recovery, I've had to take note of my limitations and push myself, gently, to get a little better every day. And in relation to my One Little Word for this year, I probably couldn't have found a better illustration of Better in my life if I'd tried. I could have done without the broken bone, mind you, but we can't always prevent every injury or setback, so the next best thing is to learn from them.

Many, many thanks to Carolyn for hosting the monthly link-ups this year. There was a period of time this month when I thought this would be my last check-in ever because dealing with my OLW toward the end of the year has been tough and I didn't have a clear idea where I was going next, but in due time my next OLW presented itself. So I will be back to the monthly reflections in 2025.

Thanks to all of you who have read and commented on these posts this year. I wish you a happy, healthy, prosperous 2025!

Better in 2024: November

Somehow it's the last Monday of the month (I swear that the months go by faster as we get later in the year), and that means it's time for a monthly check-in with my One Little Word. Thanks, as always, to Carolyn for hosting our monthly link-ups!

Over the course of the past week or so, I've really been checking in on myself and thinking about how I'm feeling relative to the beginning of the month. Because the start of November was hard, no matter how you look at it. I was still coming to grips with my injury and trying to figure out not only how to get around and manage my day-to-day activity but also how to continue to stay active and continue to get the amount of exercise I've gotten used to getting every day and how to change what that looks like now that certain types of activities are limited. Then there were all of the emotions surrounding the election and the ugliness of the campaign. On top of all that, it's been a really busy month at work, with unexpected high-profile projects in addition to the stress of putting together the commencement program.

The good news is that I feel like I'm in a better place as we approach the end of November. Physically, I'm definitely seeing an improvement. The swelling and bruising on my foot are both nearly gone, and it feels much less scary to stand with my boot off when I take a shower (really the only time I take it off). There is still slight tenderness where the break was, but I feel like I can stand more or less normally on my right foot, whereas at the beginning of the month, I was afraid to put any weight on the outer edge of it. And while it's a very poor substitute for getting outside to run or walk, I've been exercising every day by doing various chair aerobics workouts on YouTube in addition to lifting some light weights and getting back into the habit of doing crunches and pushups to work my upper body and core more. I'm moving around much better with the boot on, too, which is a great thing because I still have some bruises from bumping into things from the early days when my balance was off.

Mentally and emotionally, I'm also feeling better. I'm still concerned about what will happen starting next January, but I think I've gotten to a place of acceptance in the sense that I know it's all going to happen and I can't stop it. As I often told Molly when she was younger, you can't control the actions of others, but you can control how you react to them, and that's pretty much the approach I'm taking now. There will be people with much more influence and pull who will be focused on doing things like going to court over problematic legislation and policies, while I can focus on areas where I do have influence and on the good things in my life -- like my new niece, my family, my friendships, and making beautiful things. I guess you could say I've gotten better at acceptance and compartmentalizing. Things may not necessarily be Better, but I can focus on being Better in many ways.

Better in 2024: October

We've made it to the last Monday of the month, and that means it's time to check in with my One Little Word and to join Carolyn in the monthly link-up.

This will be old news to at least some of you, but the major way things have gotten Better this month is that finally, more than a year after the initial change and after almost a year of fighting for it to get fixed, my job classification has finally been corrected and I am once again a salaried, exempt employee at work. My job classification is now "editorial specialist," which I think better captures what I do. The change was essentially processed as a promotion, which feels pretty good considering I've never gotten one or even been eligible for one before -- despite the fact that I've taken on numerous additional responsibilities over the years. I'm thankful that my direct supervisor has been supportive this whole time (as well she should have been, given how much I help her out by doing work that she used to do!), but it's also good to know that if other such shenanigans happen in the future, I'll also have the union on my side.

I'm also hoping that in the days ahead I'll feel physically Better as well, because guess who fell again on Sunday? I stepped onto my brother's deck wearing boots that I know I slide around in and completely wiped out. But I suppose you could say I've also gotten Better at falling, because I managed to get myself to my side as I fell and my right foot took the worst of it. I think I either tore something or sprained something, because it's painful and swollen (no running for me this week), though I can still hobble around a bit. I timed it perfectly for when the Mister had to leave for a quick work trip, too! Molly has been a huge help in carrying things up and down stairs for me (that's the hardest part of getting around), and this injury might just get me out of going into the office this week -- if I can't really walk, getting there will be hard! I'm annoyed with myself but also relieved I didn't do any major damage.

As promised, here's a photo of us girls in our Halloween costumes. Can you figure out who we are?

Better in 2024: September

 

And just like that, we've arrived at the end of September -- and the final Monday in September to boot, which means it's time to check in on my One Little Word and to join in on the link party hosted so graciously every month by Carolyn.

I spent a lot of time this past weekend thinking about Better and how it's appeared in my life over the past month. And then I started thinking back to September of last year and comparing it to September of this month. I think we all hope that each new year will be better in than the last, but just looking at this one month in 2023 versus 2024, I see a lot of ways that things are Better for me. Not that it really would take that much -- you may remember that I finally caught COVID last September and was testing positive for a full two weeks. That meant that I was isolating for half the month. That would be bad enough, but this time overlapped with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, last year, and so I missed out on services and the holiday meal with the extended family. I remember having myself a little pity party and baking challah to go with the individual portions of food my mother packaged up and sent over for me. This year, however, I baked three batches of challah -- six loaves total -- over this past weekend, and I'll get to enjoy it in the company of family and friends on Wednesday night.

I also missed out on the Great Race last year, the first time I'd missed it since I started running (they even did a virtual race in 2020), and I felt sad about it every time I wore last year's shirt. But this year I was back at it, this time with Molly participating as well, and I think I may have gotten my fastest time ever at 27:14.

It was a crummy day, raining the whole time, but I felt strong and relaxed the whole way through. I started out just behind the 9-minute-mile pacers and eventually passed and stayed in front of them. And it was great to have Molly out there with us for the first time. One of her school friends ran with her most of the way, but they got separated at some point and her friend (who plays soccer, so is used to running) finished before her and we all waited for Molly to come to the finish line. She crossed in less than 40 minutes, which is quite impressive given that she has only recently started running. It's a great feeling to do something that makes you feel good and to be able to do it with the people you love most.

Her face looks like mine, but her legs are all her father's!

You know what else has gotten Better this month? My job! As of this week, I am officially an exempt employee again, meaning my job classification has been corrected (and I've essentially gotten a promotion), and, what's more, the union vote results were announced late last week and both professional and nonprofessional employees voted overwhelmingly to join the United Steelworkers! The next step is electing our bargaining committee to negotiate with the university (and no, I will not be seeking to join that committee!).

The timing off all this feels rather appropriate, even though some of the more frustrating things have taken much longer than I wanted them to. After all, in the Jewish calendar, we're wrapping up the books on the current year and getting ready to start the chapter on the new one -- and certainly I have the highest hopes that the new year will be even Better than this one.

Better in 2024: August

It's shocking to me that it's already the last week of August and that my kid is starting high school today, but such is life, am I right? It's the last Monday of the month, and that means it's time to check in with my One Little Word. Thanks, as always, to Carolyn for hosting the monthly link party!

Whereas in past months I've focused on one specific part or aspect of life that's been Better, this month, it really felt like a more general sentiment -- that life and my outlook on it have been generally improved since this time last month.

Obviously things are finally getting fixed on the work front. It's not done yet, but at least I know that it will be. Union ballots are now either in the hands of eligible employees or have already been mailed back, and I'm feeling hopeful for a outcome in favor of the union. Both of these things are likely to improve my daily life (and certainly the presence of a union in the past year would have helped a lot with the job classification debacle).

More broadly, the changes in the political landscape over the past month have me feeling a lot more optimistic about the state of this country and where it's headed. It's been encouraging to see the excitement and enthusiasm within the party, especially among younger people, in a way I really hadn't seen since the Obama years. I'm sure I'll still have plenty of moments of anxiety over the next several months, but, in general, I'm feeling, well, Better!

And in a very literal way, I've been feeling physically Better because we've had a roughly weeklong break from the heat and humidity, and that cooler weather has enabled me to have easier and more effective workouts. I feel better and sleep better when I get high-quality exercise, and that's a lot easier to do when I'm not struggling to breathe just because the air is so heavy and I'm not sweating so much that I feel like a puddle at the end.

I think what all of these facets of Better have in common is that they are largely out of my control, but while I can't always take an active role in making things Better, I can certainly take the time to focus on them and notice when they are.

Better in 2024: July

We've arrived at the final Monday of the month, which means it's time to check in with my One Little Word.

Some months reflecting on my One Little Word is more of a challenge, but this month, I didn't have to think about it at all because I knew exactly how I was Better this month (and if you were paying attention a couple of weeks ago, you'll realize that I was aware of it at the time). In going to the TwinSet Summer Retreat this month, I was Better at doing things that intimidate me: I drove on a "big road" for a long period of time and went to an event where I really didn't know anyone else. These were both pretty big deals for me. I typically hate driving, in part because I'd rather spend a long drive being productive but mainly because other drivers make me so nervous. Before this trip, the only time I'd ever driven on the turnpike once, and it was an emergency situation (it was when I went to TNNA with my friend Lisa of Fibernymph Dye Works back in 2018 and she woke up with vertigo the day we were supposed to come home). I had to drive if I wanted to go on this trip, and it was a huge confidence boost for me. I can't say I enjoyed it, but I definitely noticed that the trip home was less stressful than the trip there. And of course once the drive there was complete, there was another challenge: joining a group of knitters who all knew each other and who I didn't know. As a shy introvert, attending any sort of large gathering is a source of anxiety, but I know that when I force myself to do it, I always enjoy myself. And that was certainly the case in this instance.

While it wasn't my objective in attending this event, Mary pointed out that I was setting a great example for Mo, and she's absolutely right. My daughter is so much like me, so it's great for her to see me doing things that make her uncomfortable, too. As she gets older, the parenting wins are certainly less frequent, and I'll happily take this one.

Thanks to Carolyn for hosting our monthly link-up, as always!

Better in 2024: June

I can't believe this is the last week of June already; it seems like the longer the days are, the faster they go by! The last Monday of the month means that it's time to check in with my One Little Word and to link up with Carolyn.

The biggest change in my daily life this past month has been going into the office for work two mornings a week. I still don't see the point in being there, especially because until last week, I could actually do less there than I could at home (I couldn't connect to the printers there), but that's kind of beside the point, at least as far as my OLW goes. I was thinking about how much things have changed since I was last in the office regularly, and I'm not even talking about COVID and how that changed things. I've noticed that since this change, I've gotten Better about not caring so much about what other people think about my appearance. There was a time when I would not go into the office without my hair and makeup done. But these days, I really can't be bothered. I've gone in with dirty hair pulled back in a ponytail and not a speck of makeup on. I'll occasionally pluck my eyebrows (if they really need it), and of course I'm dressing professionally, but I've gotten to a place where I feel like my work should speak for itself and how I look is irrelevant. I know part of this comes with getting older and part of it is that I've gotten used to being more comfortable from working at home, but part of me also feels like this is a bit of an act of rebellion: If you're going to force me to come into the office, when I'm perfectly capable of getting my work done (and done well) from home, then you'll take me as I am. No one has said anything -- not that I expected them to -- but really the only person who thought I needed to come to work fully made up in the "before times" was me. And the me of 2024 is a lot Better at not hiding my imperfections (or at least at not feeling like I need to hide them)!