Thursday, January 31, 2008

Turning the Page

It's the last day of January. I read eleven books this month. And yet, I feel as if I've hardly read anything at all. Compared to some of you reading maniacs, I guess I haven't. (Not that I'm competing with you or anything, TadMack...)

Tomorrow is the first of February. (See how that flows?) Which means that I will put in a new pair of contacts, pay the rent, give the dog her heartworm meds, and turn the page on the calendar that hangs on my fridge. I'm also donating an old mattress and boxsprings to the Salvation Army. This somehow makes me feel lighter and freer. Note to self: Always start the month by donating something. Doesn't have to be a kidney. A few dollars in the Community Breadbox at Panera Bread will do.

What do you do at the beginning of every month? Make plans? Look back? Look ahead? Ignore it all completely?

9 comments:

  1. Hey! I was just trying to catch up on listing a few things. Books are a treat I give myself, that's why I read so much. If I get so many pages of revision done, do so many minutes of squats and lunges, eat so many vegetables I do not want, I get a treat: several hours of uninterrupted reading.

    A handy bribe my mother should have tried!

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  2. On the first day of each month I look over my birthday calendar and see who I can look forward to celebrating. I also make a new "wish to do" list for the month. This is not a typical "take the trash out" kind of list, but a list with things like bake a treat for the folks at work, spend a lazy day in pajamas, or write a letter to an old friend. This list helps me keep going when work is stressful, and sometimes picks me up when I'm down.

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  3. I know what you mean about the reading maniacs out there. Wow! I envy them so much.

    On the first of the month, I usually gasp at how fast the previous month has flown. Then I take stock of what birthday gifts/cards need to be sent,pay bills,chastise myself for not writing more, and race on. I like Tricia's "wish to do list" much better.

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  4. Tricia, see? THIS is why I asked this question. I knew there would be somebody out there with an awesome, inspiring routine. Me and my dog's heartworm pills just don't cut it...

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  5. Lucas was telling me this morning that I should just go ahead and change over my calendars a day early today. I spent quite a bit of time trying to explain to him the inherent wrongness of this and how important it is to start the day TOMORROW by changing the calendars. I have three in my house, one for each floor. Even though I am so seldom able to come up with the correct date, I have a bit of a thing for calendars, and I always know when it's the first day of a new month. It's a time of possibility, I think--like a mini new year.

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  6. I back up my computer on the first of each month.

    Tomorrow I'll also be doing the Hourly Comic!

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  7. I often think about how much *more* I could get read if I didn't stop to *blog* about it, and I could be a reading maniac, too. But, shoot, blogging is too fun.

    Jules, 7-Imp

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  8. P.S. I love the idea of each month being like a mini new year. I'm going to start thinking that way.

    I also do the birthday thing, Tricia.

    Jules

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  9. I never worry over how *many* books I've read lately, only how good they were. A great book may have taken years to write; why should it be all over in two minutes? (Well, two days, but hopefully the metaphor is not lost.)

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