Friday Feature: What is Enough?

I used to be part of the Black Friday brigade, back when it started at something resembling a reasonable hour (or perhaps my definition of a reasonable hour has just changed over time). These days, I'd much rather be part of the Cyber Monday crew, shopping in my pjs in the comfort of my own home. I can't think of anything I want badly enough to rise at 4am and stand in line for it and I refuse to contribute to the notion that retail workers should have to be at my beck and call on Thanksgiving.

Another factor that has played a role in my shopping shift is reaching the point where there really isn't that much that I want that I don't already have -- at least nothing that can be purchased at a Black Friday (or Cyber Monday) sale. In her post, "What is enough?" blogger and author Ingrid Fetell Lee digs a little deeper into the concept of enough, not only from a material perspective, but from a personal perspective as well.

Lee looks at gratitude, goals and, without actually labeling it, savoring as well -- that concept of being in the moment and truly experiencing all it has to offer without thinking about what might be missing or what comes next.

As an inveterate to-do list box checker, I saw a lot of myself in this article, but one paragraph practically jumped off the page and pointed its finger at me:

...Mollie West Duffy, one of the authors of the book No Hard Feelings...suggested asking the question, "What is going to be enough for today?" I've started doing this around 4pm, the hour at which I typically scan the many items still to do on my list and start to calculate how many I can reasonably accomplish. I think sometimes the pursuit of more is a mindless one, and just calling our attention to the question is often enough to discover that enough is closer to hand than we realized.

I have practically the same hour of reckoning as Lee -- somewhere around 4pm each day -- and I invariably look at my list in frustration, not triumph. I feel grumpy about what I've left undone and start wishing for a personal chef because I know that if only I didn't have to make dinner, that extra time could be soo productive and I could dispense with another three or four items....

And maybe I could. Or maybe, just perhaps, what I've already done is sufficient and it's time to rethink the reality of the list I made in the first place. On any given day, either of these things could be true, yet one conclusion is more challenging than the other, especially when I look around at what remains to be done and wonder just when that will happen.

So, today, when my lovely, long day "off" has been derailed by a sinus headache that delayed checking anything off my list, I'm going to try to remember to ask myself that question. There will always be more to do, to buy, to prepare. So, for today, what is going to be enough? 

Mail Call

Dashu83 via freepik.com

When I was a little kid, I loved getting mail. Oh, who am I kidding? I was well into my adult years before the disappointment of bills overtook the joy of personal mail. More than two decades ago, when I first started writing articles on spec, I eagerly awaited the mail each day, hoping for an acceptance letter, a contributor copy or -- jackpot! -- a check.

I think my delight with deliveries is one of the reasons I love the Christmas season. Sure, a lot of people have switched over to e-cards -- and every year, I swear that next year, I'll join them -- but Christmas cards are not yet obsolete, and finding red and green and silver envelopes among the bills and junk mail is one of the highlights of December.

And you know what else December brings?

Packages!

I'm not a Black Friday shopper and, in addition, I am one of those people who thinks stores should be closed on Thanksgiving so people can be with their families. And yet, I had both hands into some serious online shopping before it hit me that even though I'm shopping from the comfort of my own home, someone else out there on the other end of my Internet connection must be working in order to make my at-home convenience possible.

Oops.

By that time, I'd racked up enough potential presents to make sure that my mail would yield a bounty of boxes for much of the month, assuring that my daily trip to the mailbox (or, in the case of UPS, my front porch) would be worth my while.

Condesign via Pixabay

Some people outgrow Christmas. Most adults have long since stopped marveling over the mail. But these kinds of everyday pleasures still excite me. In January, the mail will return to its usual mix of bills and junk -- perhaps temporarily a tad heavier on the bills -- and so I plan to savor the deliveries of December, along with a few that I suspect will turn up before then.

Happy Cyber Monday. May all your packages be perfect.

Cyber Celebration

Today, I am the proud author of two novels. The first, Casting the First Stone, is actually half price this week at the LPC Storefront in honor of Cyber Monday.

The second, Chasing a Second Chance, became available for Kindle last week, and, as of today, is also available in paperback. I'd love to say I planned it that way, but I'm just not that good.

Today, my head is spinning. Classes resumed this morning and real-world responsibilities should be bringing me back to reality. I planned for and taught my class this morning, and then, as soon as I had the opportunity, started making book plans. Sharing the news. Planning another celebration at my favorite Starbucks. Figuring out where and how to share my excitement with the world without simultaneously annoying people.

I'm lucky. I enjoy the promoting and talking just as much as I enjoy the writing, and more than I enjoy revising or trying to figure out why I can't get a file to upload. I had great people helping me, and I am convinced that, if you want a quality product, "self"- publishing takes a village. I've been through this book launch process once before (three times, if you count the non-fiction books, which I don't, since that's completely different) and I have a list of people to contact, things to do and -- this time -- things NOT to do, all of which I'm looking forward to.

And, with each book, I feel more like the word "author" applies. While I firmly believe that all who write are writers, author -- to me -- has come to embody the whole process, from conception to publication and beyond as we simultaneously circle back to conception again.

On Saturday, as I was proofing the interior of the paperback, the what-ifs started to surface -- the ones that trigger a new project, only in this case, the what-ifs surrounded these same characters -- the ones I thought I was finished writing about. What if Marita did this? What if Charli did that? What if this happened and then caused that?

I dutifully jotted down my notes, all the while denying there was another book about these people yet to be written. After all, I have at least two more projects that have been clamoring for my attention, and they were supposed to take center stage once Chasing a Second Chance stepped aside and made room.

I'm not sure what will happen next, or which of my casts will step forward to claim center stage. For now, I'm just taking it all in, grateful to be part of the program.

Saturday Special: Holiday Hubbub

publicdomainpictures.net

Perhaps you're one of those folks who Christmas shops all year long. Or maybe you're a serious Black Friday shopper and you spent yesterday making lists and checking them twice.

Maybe you're spending today patronizing local businesses in honor of Small Business Saturday. Or perhaps you're creating lists for Cyber Monday when you can shop from home in your pajamas.

No matter your shopping style, it's the time of year when tracking down gifts becomes a necessity for most of us. And shopping is just the tip of the holiday to-do iceberg.

Fortunately, although the holidays are creeping ever closer (as several of my Facebook friends enjoy pointing out on a regular basis), there's plenty of time to tackle things in an organized fashion. If the mere thought of getting ready for the holidays leaves you in a panic, check out this article by organizing guru Julie Morgenstern, who always manages to make planning seem not just possible, but palatable as well.

Not ready to tackle holiday planning yet? Just below Julie's article on holiday planning is one on organizing your mail.

Whatever you organize today, do it with STYLE. :-)