I've recently realized I live life in a steady state of being whelmed. Whelmed, you say? Let me remind you of one of the greatest scenes in all of movies.
Sometimes, I get overwhelmed with life, but most of the time I'm just whelmed. Whelmed for me means I'm hovering near my fill line. It means I've filled my glass nearly as full as it will go without going over. It means I almost add just a few more drops just to see how close I can get to the top. Because as long as I'm not over, I'm good, right? Sometimes I think so, but I'm also not exactly the best person to make this assessment.
The last two weeks have been more overwhelm than whelm. Some of that's been on me, and some of it's been "stuff" out of my control. Although I've also started realize that if I didn't live so close to the edge than maybe I wouldn't tip the scales so often.
Yesterday though, y'all, I tried something new - Underwhelm. I took Dustin to class, and then rather than running errands or shopping, I just walked around the JCCC campus. I always find comfort in a campus. It just feels like home for me. This day was particularly special in that it was finals. Campus was slow, almost at a crawl. I spent an unplanned 90 minutes walking (and maybe catching some Pokemon - #noshameinmygame) just walking. I admired the art (if you've never seen their outdoor art, it's so great), and I did nothing. It took me awhile to get in the rhythm. At first, I thought it'd just be ten minutes, then ten became twenty, then thirty, then my husband was calling because his final was over.
After I came back to reality, it was also one of those, "Why don't I do this more?!?!" moments. And y'all, I have no good answer for that. My therapist worked with me to be more mindful - to live in the moment. Truth be told, I live in lots of moments, but rarely the one that's happening. Instead, it's all about that whelm. What can I add? What more can I do? What else can I finish? How can I do all of the things?
Well, I can't.
When I started blogging, I didn't think these were the posts I'd write. However, I'm also glad this is where I've often landed. I've come to find that the thoughts and posts that swirl in my head are these. There's been strange comfort in putting this out into the universe. In some ways, it helps take a little of that whelm off the top. . .
When you get a book with a chapter entitled "Why Rooting for the Mets Is Like Building That Ikea Desk," you know it's going to be great. This Is Your Brain On Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn from the T-Shirt Cannon was a fantastic read. The book focuses on the psychology of sports exploring why games play out like they do, why fans acts as they do, and questions about sports you just never thought to ask. Right now, this one is my go-to recommendation which when it comes to me, you can't get any better stamp of approval. Oh, and this was another book provided to me by the great folks at Blogging for Books.
While we're talking sports, two other quick notes on recent reads.
Hoop Dreams was a re-read for Throwback to the Books. Back in the mid nineties, I was super into NBA basketball. This meant I read all the basketball books I could. I have no doubt I am the most frequent reader of this book there is. This is a non-traditional adaptation of a film in that it contains content not used in the film and does a deeper dive into the stories of Arthur and William. I've been reading this book for nearly twenty years now, and it's fantastic each time.
I also read The Phenomenon which is Rick Ankiel's memoir. Rick Ankiel is most well-known for a game where he pitched five wild pitches in the NLCS - See it here. This book was an honest account of all Rick has overcome. He had a rough childhood, and his rise to the majors (on two occasions) wasn't easy. I appreciated how candid he was with his experiences, and I have a new appreciation for who he is as a player and a person.
Note: I'm behind in blogging April. This post started to read like a really boring book report, so I shelved it. Now, my memory is hazy, so it is what it is.
Grace Not Perfection is by the creator of The Simplified Planner. Honestly, it was most interesting to read about how she took that idea from dream to reality. There were some good reminders in this piece that I can't do it all, and I should stop trying. Also, I am strongly leaning towards getting a Simplified Planner, so stay tuned for that!
Home Is Where My People Are was in the same vein as Grace Not Perfection. Admittedly, reading these back-to-back made me confuse the details of what was what. This one focused more on how we find friendship and love wherever we go, and it was enjoyable.
Just Fly Away was a book I won via BookRiot giveaway. It's by Andrew McCarthy (aka Blane from Pretty In Pink), and my copy is even autographed.The book is about a girl who finds out her dad had an affair eight years ago and has a son. For the YA crowd, it'll keep you reading.
The Card Catalog was a beautiful read. It's predictably about the history and evolution of the card catalog. As a long-time fan of card catalogs, I thought this book was absolutely beautiful and stunning. It highlights some of the cards in the Library of Congress (Sidebar - Totally going there on my next visit to DC), and it is a really fascinating review of how libraries work. Also, this totally reignited my want to have an old card catalog in my house.
Sync or Swim: A Fable About Workplace Communication and Coming Together in a Crisis was intriguing. I think the biggest benefit of it was it takes the Five Love Languages and translates them into a workplace culture which was helpful for some of the work I do.
The Carrie Diaries was a book I received in a holiday book exchange. I actually wasn't a Sex and the City watcher, and I haven't read any other Candace Bushnell. However, as far as YA chick lit, this one kept me reading. If I didn't have eleventy million other shows and books in the queue, I enjoyed this enough to check out the show, too.
