With the end of February upon us, I look back on what I’ve accomplished so far, and what next month is ushering in.
January’s habit boot camp of eating healthier was hard right before Lent, and during the 1st and 2nd Sundays of Lent, but overall I continued, and I’ve renewed my commitment and started the Blood Sugar Regulation diet over today. No excuses, no cheat days, nothing for the next 30 days, because on Day 31, I have my next blood sugar and cholesterol labs and I want to get off of 2 medicines.
February’s boot camps went well. I didn’t make my bed every day, but I’ve done it at least 75-80% of the month, and decided that if I can take a break on Saturdays and Sundays (the days that I sleep in and Hubby likes to take naps), I get it done without complaint during the week. I’ve also developed a few shortcuts to make it easier to make it in the mornings: our “fancy” pillows get stacked in the closet, the ginormous pillows that we can’t sleep on get stacked in an out of the way place, and after my morning prayers, I throw my own 3 pillows to the foot of the bed before I leave the room (Hubby sleeps a little later than I do right now or I would add in making the bed earlier than 8:15 am).
As far as Morning Prayers, I have said those every day, except for maybe 3-4 days near the beginning, and I not only feel closer to God, but I’ve kept up my Lenten resolutions far better than I ever have before and I feel spiritually stronger and more able to keep up with my duty of state. I’ve also avoided my habitual sins more. All in all, I’m starting to feel more and more Catholic, and less like someone just acting the part in name only. Hopefully by the end of May, I will be more likely to take advantage of the many Church activities that are offered in Kansas when I go down for my brother’s graduation.
What’s coming up next in the month of March? Except for January, the rest of the year has 2 new habits every month, one for my physical nature and one for my spiritual nature. For the spiritual side of things, I’m going to add in a daily Rosary at the beginning of “Quiet Time” upstairs. This way, Eleanor can join me for at least one decade in the beginning and I’ll grow closer to Our Mother, Mary. Christ traditionally gave His mother to us on Good Friday, and by the close of the month I want to be able to renew my previous fervor towards her. She has definitely blessed my family in the past, and I want to keep that legacy going.
For the physical (for lack of a better word… maybe profane is the one I’m looking for?) resolution, I’m going to install an “Electronics Curfew” in my own life. With the exception of a once a week TV show I may or may not watch (depending on when reruns play), I’m going to turn off the TV, get off my phone, stop listening to podcasts, and get ready for bed 1 hour before I want to be asleep. I like to listen to podcasts in the shower, but I think I’d rather take that away as an experiment this month and see in April if listening to podcasts in the shower only prevents me from falling asleep quickly. Some exceptions to my curfew: I’m going to heighten the “warm” setting on my phone and download new podcasts overnight so that they are ready for the next day (an easier way to keep my eyes off the phone during the day), so that 5 minutes will be less harmful to my sleep. I’m going to listen to some classical music during my showers, nothing with words. If Hubby’s up and watching TV late (it comes and goes), I’m going to head upstairs early and listen to classical music on my headphones, to keep out the noise and not worry about getting curious on what he’s watching. I’m looking forward to seeing what this habit brings to my sleep patterns and how it makes me more healthy.
Has anyone else started something like my boot camp project, even to try it out for one month? It would be interesting to hear if I’ve inspired anyone else to focus totally on something they’ve always wanted to do, learn, or even a habit they’ve wanted to break. This won’t work for everyone, and may not be a long-term solution to repeat every single year, but I’m committed to experimenting with these new habits for 12 months, and I’ve only got 10 months and 20 new habits to go! It may seem like a lot of time and habits, but taking it little by little has gone well so far, and after all, the other months are much longer than February was. Stay optimistic!
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