Inhale. Exhale.

{{The pregnancy relaxation class I took to prepare for an unmedicated birth suggested looking at personal relaxing photos to elicit calm. these are mine. i'm gazing now.}}}

the need for calm:

jack had a rough day. which means i had a rough day. he refused to nap. just on the day i really, really needed him to. unleashed the spastics like i've never seen. couldn't let me out of sight. or more accurately, wouldn't let me farther than an arm's distance. his short, chubby arm's distance. wore his bike helmet. all day. loved the grilled cheese. hated the grilled cheese. wanted to dance, pushed me away. bawled for the tractor he couldn't touch. the real life, gigantic tractor. i said we'd take a picture & he could treasure it always. that worked. for awhile.

So it's late. he's in bed. I'm exhausted.

I'm thinking of rolling out the yoga mat & repeating a few of these relaxing phrases I found (see down below)....which all sounds very healthy & positive.....but I think that as soon as I'm done typing I'll just crawl in bed with my maeve binchy book & pray tomorrow's a better day...


aforementioned tractor (well, techinically it's a backhoe front loader, but please don't tell this to jack):



Relaxing Phrases. Dwell....

Tension is who you think you should be.Relaxation is who you are.
Chinese Proverb

When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere. Francois de La Rochefoucauld

There is more to life than increasing its speed. Gandhi

The tighter you squeeze, the less you have. Ma-Tsu

The quieter you become, the more you can hear. Baba Ram Dass

No matter how much pressure you feel at work, if you could find ways to relax for at least five minutes every hour, you’d be more productive. Dr. Joyce
Brothers

He enjoys true leisure who has time to improve his soul’s estate.
Henry David

Your mind will answer most questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answer.
William S. Burroughs

Calm in quietude is not real calm. When you can be calm in the midst of activity, this is the true state of nature. Happiness in comfort is not real happiness. When you can be happy in the midst of hardship, then you see the true potential of the mind. Huanchu Daoren