tired of trying to NOT keep up with the Jones’

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I decided to participate in the aday.org project on May 15th.  Here’s the project description off the aday.org website:

On this one single day we ask you to pick up your camera and help us photograph daily life. What is close to you? What matters to you? We will connect your images to images from all around the world, creating a unique online experience where photographs will be shared, compared and explored. Your view on life will be preserved to inspire generations to come. 

Admittedly, my life has been too busy lately and I really don’t have the bandwidth needed to participate in anything like this.  In a very apathetic mood, I set out to photograph a few things from my day.  Of the ten photos I was allowed to submit, I submitted 9.  Photos that anyone would look at and say, “There’s nothing really great about these photos.  They’re just normal people doing everyday things.  Bor-ing.”

There’s nothing really great about these photos.  They’re just normal people doing everyday things.

Initially, that’s what I saw too.  I almost didn’t submit anything.  I guess that’s the good thing about social media.  It’s an accountability group, whether you want it to be or not.  I publicly said, “I’m going to do this!  You should too!”  It would be awkward to not do it and have to say that I’m trying to achieve some sort of greatness with this that I couldn’t even remotely come close to.

You can view all of my submissions here.  My pictures might suck, for lack of a better word, but my life doesn’t.  I totally can relate to Donald Miller right now with Blue Like Jazz.  Take a look.

School Project

What I see:  A messy coffee table with a kids’ school project that is finally done.  You should see the rest of the house!

What this means in my life:  There are so many things this means in my life.  Boring photo?  Yes.  What does it say about my life?

  • I have a house.  Not just a shelter, but a really nice shelter.
  • I have 2 kids that have the opportunity to go to a great school.
  • My kids are creative and have a place to use those skills.
  • My wallet… I have money to feed myself and my kids without having to struggle day to day.
  • I have a great job that allows me some flexibility to work from home sometimes so I can be with my kids.
  • I get to spend time with my kids.
  • I have great friends.

I could go much deeper than this, but I’ll spare you some of the details.  My point is that there are so many things I take for granted.  I think I probably speak for all of us when I say that.  I posted this quote on my Facebook page a couple of days ago:

“Sometimes I just get worn out being a square peg in a world of round holes.”

When I wrote this, I just felt tired.  Tired of trying to not keep up with the Jones’.  Tired of trying to just keep my head above water in getting everything done that I feel I need to do.  Tired of the responsibility of being the head of my household.

If I made a list from each of the photos of everything good that’s represented, this would be a really long blog post.  My point?  I need to take the time to look at my life through a different lens sometimes and appreciate all of the goodness in it.

A day without…

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Tomorrow is TOMS “one day without shoes” event.  An event to create an awareness of the impact a pair of shoes can have on a child in need.  Yes, I’ll be barefoot tomorrow.  So will my son Joe, who has school tomorrow.  I’m thinking his elementary school is not going to allow him to stay barefoot for long though.  Knowing I don’t have time to leave work and bring him shoes, he’ll have a pair in his backpack.  At his age, he’s probably doing this more for the attention he’ll get for himself instead of the attention he could create for a world in need.  But that’s okay.  This is still a good learning process for him and I’m proud of him for doing it.

As for me, I get more comments about my shoes when they match as opposed to when they’re mismatched.  I’m guessing I’ll get less inquiries about my bare feet than any other people would walking around with no shoes on their feet.  So what is TOMS trying to accomplish with this?  They’re doing great work through selling shoes and I’m sure they would like to sell more shoes.  That’s not a bad thing though.  When they are selling shoes, it’s good, because many children in need are also getting shoes.  I support TOMS, maybe more than I should since I have 4 pairs.  (One of those came from Freecycle)

I know this event is to create awareness and I also know that to do that effectively, one must communicate their cause in culturally relevant ways.  I have to be honest here.  I’m struggling a little bit with all of the advertising paraphernalia that accompanies this particular cause.   I don’t want to wear the t-shirts, I don’t want to stencil this on the street and I don’t want to use the phone app.  I’m not offended at all if people want to use these tools, but I want something a little different.  I want to experience what it’s like to be without shoes.  Better yet, I want to spend my day thinking about all of the things I take for granted.  What is it like to be without?  Without shoes?  Without clean water?  Without enough food?  Without shelter?  Without my iPad?  Without my car?  Without my ____________?  There are pages of words I could use to fill in this blank.  I’m ashamed to say it, but I take all of this for granted.  Continue reading →

the BIGGEST downsize!! [minimalist challenge item #361]

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[item] My house

[purchase info] Purchased pre-owned in Preston Vineyards.

[time in my possession] Approximately 5.5 years.

[last used] Today.  (Well, I’m a little late on posting this blog entry, but I was in it until I moved.)

[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Difficult

[destination] Rental property right now.

[replacement item] A smaller house.  I went from 1792 square feet to 1419.

[info] Wow.  Where do I start with this one?  I wanted to downsize my house.  I bought this as a fixer-upper and spent a good part of the first 4 years doing just that — fixing it up.  A lot of sweat equity went into this home, which made it a really difficult decision.

I still own the home and I’m renting it to some really awesome people!  I plan to sell it, but for now it’s a rental property.  With that being said, I’m not sure how to quantify this downsize in dollars like I have all of the other things.  I’ll have to figure that out when calculating my final dollar amounts.

a back door for the front door [minimalist challenge item #360]

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[item] A glass door.

[purchase info] Purchased at the Habitat ReStore for $65

[time in my possession] Approximately 5 months

[last used] Never

[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Medium

[destination] Freecycle

[replacement item] None

[info] I bought this to use as my front door.  It didn’t fit right right, and I did try more than once.  The door was just a tad bit too big.

fill it up! [minimalist challenge item #359]

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[item] Pink mesh laundry basket

[purchase info] Purchased new at The Container Store.

[time in my possession] Approximately 7 years

[last used] 3 years ago.

[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Easy

[destination] Freecycle

[replacement item] None

[info] I don’t have a big house anymore and no place to really use this.  Also, the side kept collapsing.

susan is really lazy [minimalist challenge item #358]

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[item] Lazy susan

[purchase info] Purchased new at Ikea.

[time in my possession] Approximately 6 years.

[last used] Over a year ago.

[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Medium

[destination] Freecycle

[replacement item] None

[info] Why is this called a lazy susan?  Who’s Susan?  She must have really been lazy.  I like this, I just really don’t have a spot for it anymore.  I used it at work for a long time.

fabric scraps & painted sheets [minimalist challenge item #357]

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[item] A huge lot of fabric scraps and 3 painted sheets

[purchase info] The sheets came from an art project at work and the fabric scraps are mostly old clothing.

[time in my possession] Not sure, but many years.

[last used] Several years ago.

[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Easy

[destination] Freecycle

[replacement item] None

[info] I have lots of stuff like this.  I needed to purge some of it.

art canvas & vintage pins [minimalist challenge item #356]

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[item] A painted canvas and some vintage pins / broaches.

[purchase info] Purchased at a thrift store.

[time in my possession] Approximately 4 years

[last used] 4 years ago

[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Easy

[destination] Freecycle

[replacement item] None

[info] I bought this canvas half painted.  I finished the painting and pinned vintage flower pins all over it.  It’s been in my garage and some of the pins broke off.

creepy doll collection [minimalist challenge item #355]

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[item] Box of dolls, some new, some vintage.

[purchase info] Purchased mostly on eBay and at thrift stores.

[time in my possession] Approximately 6 years.

[last used] A few months ago.

[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Difficult.

[destination] Freecycle

[replacement item] None

[info] I bought these to use in a photographic art project for an altered book.  I like taking random photos of them and using them for art projects.  Interesting conversation pieces too when you set them out around the house or bring them to meetings.

sewing supplies [minimalist challenge item #354]

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[item] A plastic box of sewing supplies

[purchase info] Purchased new.

[time in my possession] Approximately 6 years.

[last used] Never on a lot of it, 4 years ago on the rest.

[difficulty level in getting rid of it] Easy

[destination] Freecycle

[replacement item] None

[info] I’m not good at sewing, nor do I like to do it.  bye, bye sewing stuff.