Not Just Another Manic Monday

Even though I will be posting this on a Tuesday morning, I wanted to write about how I handled my Monday. To back up a little, I got some much-needed rest, a little research and phenomenal refocusing done this past weekend. So mission accomplished (so far) on that front. The ‘so far’ is because those will be ongoing goals and requirements moving forward. I woke up Monday morning having had a good night’s sleep.  I prayed and meditated, which always includes a mental gratitude list. After a shower and getting dressed I was ready for the world. I even put on a dress too.

My first stop was to my neighborhood coffee shop where the carafe of the only coffee I like there had run out and they had not started to make a new one yet. They only brew two other kinds so I had to get an alternative coffee that did not taste good at all. I’m seriously considering investing in my own coffee maker at home because this shit happens way too often at my shop. I love supporting my small town businesses, but a girl needs CONSISTENCY when it comes to her morning coffee!

By the time I got to work, I was trying not to let the coffee snafu ruin my morning. I have a 40-mile commute so I had to work hard at it. Of course, that gets shot to hell because apparently I did such a great job not thinking about my job that I forgot every day this week is casual dress. As in everyone was wearing jeans except me in dress, no less! My first clue came after my zombie walk across the work parking lot into the building waiting for the elevator. A girl from another department looks me up and down, smirks and says “Forgot it was a Casual week, huh?”. Since I couldn’t throw my coffee in her face as I realized what she was saying, I tried to take it in stride by replying “shit” in a good-natured way.  Let me tell you I was not a happy camper sipping nasty ass coffee in a dress when everyone else was in jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes or boots! I drank as much of the coffee as I could because I needed the energy boost. Then I tried looking on the bright side about wearing a dress as I had done a great job not thinking about my job all weekend.

I’ve written about my work and all that entails. Mondays are the busiest days of the week and this Monday was no exception. Well, one of the many potential ticking time bombs that lurk waiting in my desk and workload went off and I called in to talk about it with my supervisor. I am human and only one person. I come into work and do the best I can to get as much accomplished as possible. The discussion went a little sideways but after more talking, it was determined that I would be given some overtime to help with some of the ticking time bombs on my desk. I have to tell you that when I left that office I needed to find a quiet place (the bathroom) and do some Ujjayi Pranayama for quite some time until I calmed down. That is deep breathing that helps calm the mind. I learned that in my yoga class and it served me well yesterday. It was also fortunate that this happened near the end of my work day. When I walked out of the building and got into my car, I had no desire to listen to my radio so I turned it off and drove home in silence with my thoughts and Ujjain breathing when I remembered.

Another fortunate thing about Mondays is I talk to my spiritual advisor every Monday evening around 6ish for about an hour or so. I got home a little early so I ate some leftover steamed cabbage with onions and smoked sausage over jasmine rice for dinner. Then I settled into my bedroom and got her on the phone to rehash the incident at work and my previous week since we last talked. I get honest one on one feedback, clarity and challenges from her. She is not afraid to ask questions about something or point out things I may not have considered or that may not be healthy. I got to take an honest look at what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. This Monday had a few small bumps and one pretty big one. I navigated them all to the best of my ability. The truth is a day like this a year ago, hell even six months ago, would have sent me running full tilt into unhealthy emotional eating and deep sea diving into whatever favorite romance novel I wanted to lose myself in or a mini marathon of  binge watching The Big Bang Theory on television.  However today I can and do roll with the punches of nasty coffee, miscued dress code, and a workload time bomb.

I like being fully present for my life even when it’s not fully pleasant to be so.