MamaManagement

You know what you don't hear of a lot of people doing anymore? Puttering. You hear of rushing and running and going and doing. But you don't hear a lot of puttering. As in: "What are you up to today?" "Oh just puttering around the house." or "Thought I'd putter in the garden this morning." I think we need more puttering. putter [puht-er] verb (used without object) 1. to busy or occupy oneself in a leisurely, casual, or ineffective manner: to putter in the garden. 2. to move or go in a specified manner with ineffective action or little energy or purpose: to putter about the house on a rainy day. We're always doing something these days. Always being productive. Or we're checked out in front of some electronic devise. But I bet if you had asked my grandma on just about any given day, at some point during that day she would have described herself as puttering. That's not to say that my grandma wasn't busy or prod...

In today's plugged-in, hurry-up culture, I'd venture to guess that multi-tasking is an epidemic. And, what makes me kind of sad, now that I really think about it, is that for many years I have actually prided myself on my ability to multi-task. Now, I'm not so proud of it...and I'm finding it a really hard habit to break. As I've started to pay more attention to things lately, to become more aware of what I'm doing and how I'm doing it, I've noticed how often I am multi-tasking. I eat my breakfast while checking email or getting the kids' breakfast or driving the car. I unload the dishwasher while talking on the phone. I clean up the kitchen while cooking dinner. I look at my facebook feed while brushing my teeth. Heck, like most moms I can make dinner, talk on the phone, empty the dishwasher, fix a toy, help with homework, and make my grocery list all at the same time. Impressive...or sad? I used to think the former...like a badge of honor....

Dear Ms. Winfrey, I cannot begin to fathom how many thank you letters you must get. Sadly, I would imagine you get your fair share of nastygrams too. But hopefully someone just tosses those in the recycle bin with nary a glance. I know that this note will never reach you, and that's okay. Because I know you, of all people, would understand the idea of simply sending the goodness out into the universe and letting it do it's own thing. So here's some goodness... I pretty much grew up watching The Oprah Show. I was right there with you when you started the book club. (I still remember getting Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone right after you chose the book for bookclub and devouring it on the couch in our family room in one day. I'm not entirely sure I even took breaks to eat.) You've introduced me to so many wonderful books, and for that I say thank you. I find I'm naturally drawn to anyone who shares my love of books and reading and learning, the...