Drawing Inspiration from your Day

“A penny for your thoughts.” Have you ever really stopped to think about this phrase? I mean really think about it? When it comes right down to it, it is a little outdated. With inflation, I think my thoughts are worth more than a penny, but I am not quite sure if they are at quarter status yet. Maybe more like a nickel. Maybe 7 ½ cents on a good day.

This is my life. This is the way I think. This is the way my brain works. It seems that I am constantly thinking about something, and unfortunately rarely on terribly important topics. My husband and I argue at least once a day over the fact that he claims there are times that his brain is not working. He says he is actually not thinking about anything at all. I think he is lying to me. There is just no possible way that you cannot be thinking about something, anything. Right now as I am typing I am once again pondering the thought that has been plaguing me all day, “How do they get the pimento inside the olive without crushing or damaging the olive?” Join me on the exhausting journey that is my day, and see how your own random thoughts can inspire your layouts.

6:00 a.m. - Ignore the fact that my husband is trying to wake me up for work. I am exhausted and cranky because of his constant snoring. He pulls the earplug out of my right ear and gives me a “wet willy” to force me out of bed. I wonder how many women wear earplugs to bed? Am I the only one?

Layout Idea: Document that I have worn earplugs to bed every single night of my life since my wedding night, and even though it once was a nuisance I now have to have them in to fall asleep.

6:35 a.m. - While stepping into the shower I once again knock over the 87 bottles of Bath and Body Works shower gel Lucy has to have in the tub.

Layout Idea: Create a layout to celebrate the wonders of the Bath and Body Works employee that convinced Lucy that if she wanted to use shower gel it had to actually be used while taking a shower. God bless this woman for making my life so much simpler!

7:45 a.m. - Pull into the McDonalds drive-thru for the millionth time since getting pregnant with Charlie. As usual I order an iced tea and a Sausage Biscuit, and for the millionth time the drive-thru lady assures me my baby is going to be a boy.

Layout Idea: Create a layout documenting all the different ways people have predicted the sex of this child, from the drive-thru lady to the Drano test.

9:38 a.m. - Return to my classroom after dropping off all 30 of my fourth graders to music class, and stare out the windows to the woods behind my school. This is my one stretch of “me time” in an otherwise very loud and extremely busy day.

Layout Idea: I have to take a picture out of my classroom windows. The view is so stunning and peaceful. I would love to get a picture from the same window each season and use it to create a timeline of the school year.

12:05 p.m. - Drop my students off to lunch and retrieve my own plastic tray full of starch, uh, food. Find a spot in the teachers lounge to eat my mashed potatoes, chicken and noodles, and two yeast rolls. After discussing with my coworkers how long I would have to be on Atkins to counterbalance this meal, I am reminded of making noodles with my Grandma Ginny when I was little.

Layout Idea: Use the picture I have been saving of my Grandma in her kitchen to create a layout about her lack of cooking skills. Even though she was not a very good cook, she could make excellent noodles. To this day I love the process of making noodles just like my Grandma taught me.

3:20 p.m. - Wave goodbye to the last school bus at it pulls away from the curb and head to the teachers lounge to unwind.

Layout Idea: Create a layout documenting…uh, maybe it would be better if what happens in the lounge is not documented for all eternity.

4:00 p.m. - After picking Lucy up from the babysitter’s house we head home singing loudly to Radio Disney and talking about our day apart. Lucy tells me all about her day at preschool and what new information she learned about topics ranging from dinosaurs to God. Which reminds me of the adorable meal-time prayers Lucy has been saying lately. Sometimes these prayers last so long that I am forced to warm my dinner in the microwave.

Layout Idea: I need to take the time to create a layout about Lucy’s growing knowledge of God and religion. It would even be great to include some of her favorite things to pray for.

6:00 p.m. - It is time to begin throwing something resembling a well-balanced meal together for dinner. I decide to make meatloaf, corn, and mashed potatoes. What is it about mashed potatoes that make it possible for me to eat them for more than one meal in a day and still crave them, and why exactly does Lucy prefer the boxed mashed potato flakes over my homemade ones?

Layout Idea: Using the picture of Lucy eating Thanksgiving, create a layout documenting her mealtime confession. Why would I ever want to forget my lovely child requesting “box potatoes like momma makes” in front of our entire family?

7:15 p.m. - This is my time. This is the time of the day that I get to go into the bathroom and take a long bubble bath. If I am lucky I will get to soak in peace, but most likely Lucy will come in and “read” her favorite books to me. I love listening to her retell her favorite stories, but I also love a few minutes of peace and quiet. As predicted, here she comes!

Layout Idea: Create a layout to honor Lucy’s love of all things literary, from attending story hour at the library, to reading books, to creating her own storybooks.

8:30 p.m. - After a long day it is time to tuck my little angel into bed. I love this time of the day. I love to lay with her in her bed and talk about our days. I love the way her blonde hair fans out over her pillow. I love the way she looks at me. I love the way she rubs my cheek as we talk. Most importantly, I love the way she says her prayers.

Layout Idea: Record the words to some of Lucy’s bedtime prayers to capture her budding knowledge of God and her deep sense of compassion for others.

So, that is it. That is my life in a nutshell. It is a very modest existence, but I could not be any happier. Okay, I guess I could be a little happier if I knew once and for all how they get those darn pimentos in the olives. Other than that, I am satisfied. I hope that I have inspired you to use the real moments in your life as inspiration to capture the heart of your existence.