One Thing at a Time

I took my first yoga class many years ago, it was the Beginner’s class called C1 and I remember being amazed at how intense the workout was once it was over. I felt great, invigorated and wiped out all at the same time. The one message that resonated with me for that hour and every time I took a class after that was “Remember to Breathe”!

Now I’ve never been a big fan of multi-tasking so the fact that I needed to breathe in, breathe out AND make sure my moves & poses were correct was simply too much for me to bear! I made the best of it, followed along and tried my best. I would always breathe out when you’re supposed to breathe in and vice versa.

My brain apparently isn’t wired to do more than one thing at a time however you know there are exceptions to every rule.

Here are mine:

1. Using my 10-Key Casio calculator while looking at the numbers on my screen or on paper and running a tape once or twice or thrice!

2. Listening to music while driving a car

As you can see, it’s just not my thing. I’m sure there are other things I do every day that you would consider to be multi-tasking, but I need to focus & finish typing this and can’t think about anything else right now😊

I know I intuitively DO more than one thing at a time without even knowing it, and I’m sure I’ve done this for a very long time. What I’m saying here is that I don’t think I’m doing it well any longer. My brain, while capable of a lot, just can’t absorb that kind of workload anymore. I think it’s been going on for a while now, I don’t know when it started but I’ve slowly stepped back from over working it on purpose. I joke that my brain needs to decompress and dial down the content once the workday is over. I don’t even think I “do” talk on the phone while driving well anymore……because then I would be tri-tasking. (Listening to music, driving and talking on the phone)

Like all of you, I’ve had a lot going on, sometimes more than I can realistically handle. My motto has always been “keep on keeping on” the best I can. I go and do as soon as I walk out my front door and don’t look back.

Keep moving forward, don’t look back. Stay in today I tell myself, only today and nothing else. Staying in yesterday causes depression, thinking about tomorrow causes anxiety, so stay present, be present and nothing else.

Pretty good for someone who doesn’t like doing more than one thing at a time right?

Growing up Hechtman, as you all know, was filled with lots of love, laughter and lighthearted lunacy. In between the L’s were conversations about planning which of course included saving for the future. Multi-tasking at its finest.

If you’re still reading and haven’t driven off the road yet, thank you for hanging on……
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I know what you must be thinking, planning usually involves thinking about tomorrow, right? Yes, but you can plan today, which is being present. I think you get where I’m going with this so indulge me a little more, I’ll get to the point at some point😊

Keeping a foot in yesterday, the other foot in tomorrow, and a few fingers in today is chaos. Close your eyes for a minute and imagine doing this with your feet and fingers? Hard to imagine right? If you work on your core everyday all the time you might be able to do it, but maybe not for the long haul.

Not every day, at least for me. To me, it’s not sustainable.

I know I’ve been guilty of doing all three at once for a very long time. Thinking about yesterday, thinking about tomorrow and planning for today. That, my friends, is an explosion waiting to happen.

I say this from my heart and soul and to share why I’ve been absent from writing in such a long time.

So much going on, always every day. So much to carry, literally and figuratively. Its amazing I’m still holding strong at 5’3. My shoulders are sore from the weight of my world on them. Going and doing, every day and waiting to exhale and not remembering if I’m breathing.

This week, Tuesday October 29th, to be exact marked 16 years I’ve been doing on my own, a single full-time working mom.

I write this not to get accolades and pats on my sore back, I write this share and connect. I share this so I can exhale, writing has become one of my salvations.

I share this too because I know I am not alone. We’re used to sharing for the good stuff, at least the “fake” good stuff because it’s easier. Keeping the bad stuff to ourselves keeps our secret that maybe our life is slowly falling apart. Sharing the good stuff keeps the secret that the cover of our lives looks great. It’s usually not the cover that people remember. We remember the pages inside the book, sometimes we bookmark pages that spark something inside of us. We nod our head because we know we are not alone in our experiences.

I wish I had something profound and witty to say in closing, but I’m tired and getting ready to enjoy dinner with friends.

I know I’ll be greeted with lots of love and support as I walk in, I’ll probably start to cry because my cupeth has runneth over with all of the shit going on over the past few months and I can finally breath and exhale because I am letting it all hang out, with you.

Wow, that felt good😊

TGIF friends and see you soon, xoxo