Life Archives - Page 2 of 8 - Catherine Hughes

April 19, 2022April 19, 2022

Do the Thing to be the Person you Want to be

Do the thing to be the person you want to be –

In order to be a writer, you must write.

To be a runner, you must run.

Simple concept, which humans make hard.

Will you become the world’s fastest runner, simply by tying your shoes and running? No. Not likely.

But each run will make you a bit better. Each run will be a bit different, some easier, some harder. Some will seem easy, yet you ran your fastest pace yet.

Running is simple, lace up your shoes and go. And it can be complicated, making sure you have the right shoes for the way you run. The right clothes, which wick away sweat. Make sure your pace is correct. Run with a group or do it on your own?

But in the end, the only thing which really makes you a runner is the simple fact you went out the door and ran.

To be a runner, run.

Substitute any verb for the noun you want to be.

Do the thing to be the person you want to be.

April 17, 2022

Cycles

Our time on earth is marked in a series of cycles or seasons. The four seasons. The seasons of childhood and adulthood. The sun rises and sets each day.

I woke to a full moon reflecting on the lake – one of the many phases of nature.

It is also Easter Sunday. For some, today is a Christian holy day. A day of religious celebration. The end of the forty days of lent.

For others, Easter means a big meal celebrated with family. For others, it is simply a day of Easter baskets and candy.

It is a mark of the end of winter and the rebirth of spring.

It is also obviously Sunday, the first day of the week or the last day of the weekend. I guess it depends on your outlook. Another day to do your own thing. Or a day off as your mind drifts towards Monday.

There is no stopping the seasons or the cycles of life.

We can dread the change of seasons, compulsory holiday dinners, and work prep. Or we can bring gratitude for the gift of each new day.

The days will keep coming until they don’t. There is nothing humans can do to stop the changes and progressions of life. The only thing we can change is our attitude towards them.

Happy Easter.

Happy Sunday.

Happy first day of the week.

Happy Pink Full Moon.

Choose what and how you celebrate today.

April 16, 2022

Show Up

Show up

Do the thing you want to do.

Show up for yourself. You don’t have to do it for anyone but you. You may think you can put it off. And honestly, you could put it off, and no one but you would know.

You need to do it.

Show up.

Simple.

Simple, but not easy.

April 15, 2022

Note to self –

Show up for yourself this weekend.

Do the thing which is weighing on your soul. It won’t take that much time.

Go for a run. Not because you signed up for a race. Run for you. Because you know deep down in your soul just how much better you will feel when you do it.

Dust off your camera and take photos. When you see the world focused through a lens releases something in you. Just point and shoot. No need to worry about sharing them. The photos are for you.

And eat some real food sitting at a table with someone you love.

Nothing complicated this weekend. Simple. Joyful. Loving.

January 1, 2022February 5, 2022

Celebrity Loss List

Celebrity Loss List

It is the time of year when the media outlets start showcasing the celebrities we lost this year. The actors whose performances riveted us in our seats. The musicians whose music we grew up singing to in the car. The authors whose books made us think in different ways.

But this year was a year many of us experienced personal losses; family, friends, coworkers, and our fur babies. Lives which ended before we rang in 2022.

I would love to take a moment to talk about a few of my losses. Losses I haven’t yet processed. Which don’t seem real yet, because I haven’t yet experienced the events they should be at, but won’t. Continue reading “Celebrity Loss List”

August 10, 2021

Dream Home

What is your dream home. I believe we have all seen those posts on Facebook with a series of pictures of houses. A seaside home, mountain cabin, lake…
Dream Home

July 9, 2021

Mid-Year Review

When I worked for a company, we did a mid-year review and a final review each year. The mid-year was done with your boss to make sure you were on track to meet standards for the year. In essence, so there would be no surprises as your final review.

It was the final review where what you accomplished was compared to the goals set by myself and my boss at the beginning of the year. Was everything accomplished? Did you go above and beyond what was expected? Did you not meet standards in an area? If so, there were systems put in place to help you meet standards the following year.

Because a review at mid-year was completed, the one at year-end wasn’t supposed to have surprises. It often did. When I stopped working for a company, I was grateful to never have to go through this process again. And I am certain my boss was just as glad to never have to give me another review.

The thing with the review process is it keeps you on track.

Continue reading “Mid-Year Review”

July 5, 2021July 5, 2021

What a difference a year makes

What a difference a year makes!

This weekend I was the last person up to the cottage for the July 4th weekend. Pulling up to the driveway I discovered, there were already six cars parked there, along the road, and at the neighbor’s house.

Walking into the cottage, I could see the boat and sea doo were gone. The family was already at the sand bar enjoying a beautiful Saturday.

The cottage floors were strewn with shoes and towels. The kitchen was filled with dishes. I had no idea where the three cats were. There were suitcases and duffles all over the place.

Generally, things which would make me mad, but made me smile! What a difference a year makes!

I took a walk down the street and noticed mine was not the only house overflowing with cars and campers. It was the rare driveway that was empty. People were ready to enjoy the long weekend.

And the homeowners were entertaining again!

Yesterday, back to the sandbar! The best way to enjoy a sunny 90-degree day. I have to say, in our 20 years of living here, I have never seen so many people there.

What’s more, the people were smiling. And I could see their smiling faces! There were volleyball games, tons of people floating on rafts, and I may have spotted a beer pong game or too.

This morning I went back out for a walk. The driveways are slowly emptying out. My driveway is down to four cars.

Friends have headed back home, and two of my kids have headed back to their lives.

There is a bit of me that is sad. Which is a normal feeling when the house empties out.

But honestly, I am so blessed I have a place they want to spend their time off. I am grateful they chose to spend their time with me. I have great kids, and they have great friends. This weekend has reminded me of just how blessed I am.

Of course, this does not mean I won’t shed a tear or two while I track my kids back to their new homes. It just means I know just how lucky I am to have spent some part of their long weekend with them.

And that is the difference between this year and last year. Last year I was heartbroken to see my son head off to boot camp. Like ugly cry sad. This year I know how blessed I am when I get to see him. (I may still shed a tear though.)

May you also see the blessings in your lives, even when they make you sad.

June 27, 2021

Shut Down

My life has been shut down and not in a good way.

The last thing I wrote was about being overwhelmed. I wrote the post on January 4th. It is now the end of June.

I had plans in place on how to deal with feeling overwhelmed, and I closed out by saying I would let you know how it went. I guess since I haven’t written since January, you can see it didn’t go well.

This doesn’t mean the way I was going to move forward was faulty, it just didn’t work because I was not in the mental space to move forward.

I am not feeling creative. The creative well, so to speak, was dry.

I feel most like myself after running, photographing life, and spending time with family and friends.

I haven’t been running.

My camera battery has been dead for a while. I pulled my camera out to get a close-up of my daughter in April and it was dead. I haven’t taken the battery out to charge since.

And time with friends, well, I don’t remember the last time I did that.

So, yup. I pretty much shut down all the ways to refill my creative well.

Refilling the well is simple. I know how to refill it. I just haven’t.

My running shoes are dusty. I bought my shoes at the start of the pandemic. Typically, shoes need to be replaced every 500 miles. I am not even close to this mileage more than a year later.

Taking photos, is a passion of mine. How I really love to see the world. I haven’t picked up the camera. And what’s more my phone is with me almost at all times. I just don’t take photos. I wish I could say it was because I was trying to be present in my life, but that would be a lie. The thought to take photos just doesn’t even happen any more.

And time with friends was essentially removed by the pandemic. But that really was no excuse. There are other ways to do this, and now that my state is essentially open and I am vaccinated, there is no excuse.

I have just shut down.

So, after I am done writing, I am taking my shoes out for a run. Maybe dust them off first. 😳It will be slow. I promise not to judge the rate I am running and celebrate the fact I went out for the run!

And I promise to charge my camera today and to take five photos of life. Just five, not a whole series, unless I feel so inclined. I need to experience life again through a camera lens.

As for my friends, I will reconnect. I know sending a text doesn’t seem hard, but when you are shut down, it is. It gets more difficult as each day goes by to send the text. Make the phone call. But I will send the text today.

And then maybe, just maybe, I will start to feel more like myself and start living again.

January 4, 2021December 31, 2024

Overwhelmed

I think the underlying feeling I have had over the past year has been overwhelmed. I have been overwhelmed with guilt, exhaustion, grief, tiredness, sadness. As a result, I have all but shut down.

As I started to dig my way out from all the negative and refocus, something new would bring me back down.

Moving onto my blank slate of 2021, I have a few tools I will use to get past this. Because, to be honest, most of what happened in the past year is still happening now.

So here is my plan to get back to feeling more like me: Continue reading “Overwhelmed”