So far my 52 Changes have been:

• Month One: Walk, Meditate, Get More Sleep, Floss
• Month Two – Focus: I am good enough, Being Grateful, Most Important Things,
  Essential Things

I’m finding the 52 Changes easier as the weeks go by. For
March, I decided that it was going to be a month of moments; I wanted to be in
the present as I worry too much about what’s been and what will be. I chose the
changes specifically because I was only in Canberra for a few weeks and I
wanted to make the most of my time with family and friends.

My third month went a little like this:

Savour – The week after my mini break/holiday in Melbourne, I jumped
back on the catch up and errands train and I was grateful I took the time to
focus on me in February. As much as I love organising and socialising, my
energy levels dip ever so slightly that I felt I needed mini time-outs. In the
first week, I spent a day at home semi-sitting my nephews. Even though
I was only away from them for a couple of months, I realised just how precious
these little moments were. Three and a half year old Jacob had become even
chattier than ever and almost one-year-old Matty had recently become a strong
little climber. Purely by habit, I whipped out my phone and started capturing
nephew land time. After having a good giggle through my glass screen I realised
how much I really missed them and decided to be _in_ the moment instead. I put my
phone away and started savouring my time with my two favourite little boys.

As soon as I did that, I started noticing more about their
behaviour, character, interactions and everything else. This new sense of
awareness seeped into how I spent time with my parents over a meal or listening
to my grandmother’s stories and sharing her pearls of wisdom. It allowed me to
savour the moments without having to do much but sit, listen, watch and enjoy.

⋆⋆⋆

Play – I scheduled plenty of nephew hang out time during my three
weeks in Canberra, and naturally that meant a lot of playing. Everything turned
into a game, a song or a little dance. For example, I’ve been trying to teach
Matty how to say “Misch” so I would sing him a song, repeating the few
syllables that is my name. He would smile, wave his hands about but is yet to
surprise me by actually _saying_ my name. But it’s a fun work in progress.
Jacob on the other hand has become my little sous chef. One day, we were baking
(paleo) strawberry cupcakes and apart from licking the bowl and spoons, he
loved putting each ingredient into the bowl. We now have a good rhythm when we
bake but he always insists on doing (almost) everything. He asked if he could
break the eggs, but I suggested maybe pouring the agave in the bowl and I do
the eggs. He thought for a moment, shrugged and said “okay!” After he
finished pouring the agave, he held the bowl in one hand and stirred the batter with a wooden
spoon in the other, just like I taught him.

The afternoon we left for Japan, Jacob was following us
around everywhere we went. He asked what I was doing and I said that I couldn’t
find the lock for my bag. Jacob started helping me look then goes up to Tim and
says, “do you want to help us investigate?” We looked at him in awe
of his ability to use big words, then giggled at his seriousness. Regardless of
what we did it was fun, playful and good times (though always resulted in nap
time when everyone went home).

⋆⋆⋆

Slow Down – Whenever I’m back home Nanay (my grandma) would always want
a trip (or three) to do some grocery shopping. On the Monday before we left
Australia, Nanay insisted on going to Woolworths. I had a long list of little
things to do, but I had to put it on hold, which to be honest was completely
fine and I welcomed the excuse to do something else. I drove Nanay to the shops
and decided to savour the moment with her, to be present and slow down. I
pushed the trolley as she filled it up with groceries for three (but it could
probably feed a lot more). I watched as she surveyed her list, double checked
prices and go down the meat aisle a few times. I giggled to myself, which I
think is some weird twitch I’ve developed to indicate that I’m really happy.

⋆⋆⋆

Read – After the excitement of being at home, packing, travel and
exploring new places wore off, my body decided to hit me with a head cold and
migraine (probably from too much non paleo food in one go). I was skimming
through the 52 Changes list when I came across “read”. It seemed
simple enough, plus I was reading Susannah Conway’s this I know at a nice pace (and loving everything she
said and shared). Every night Tim reads before going to bed, I’ve tried to
mimic this but would often get over stimulated and have all these fabulous
ideas I want to try  instead of sleeping. So, for this change I decided to
make the time to read. I would wake up each day, make the bed, get ready then I
would sit on the couch, sipping my breakfast smoothie and continue to read the
tear jerking, awe inspiring and empowering words of Susannah. When I finished
the book (that week) I felt strong, motivated and so excited to do her
unravelling e-course in
April. It was quite liberating, not only did I end the week on a high note, but
I succsefully set myself a change challenge and passed it with flying colours.

It also made me realise that despite being such an
“easy” change, for me it was so much more. I was never really a
reader because I felt intimidated by big words I didn’t understand or felt I
had to read certain books and automatically like them. But once I
started to let go of my insecurities I found writers and bloggers that move me
so deeply. They’re inspiring and motivating that I can’t help but write and
share my thoughts with you.

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I’m really enjoying taking on these 52 Changes because it
helps me implement habits that I’ve often thought of “wanting to
have”. They also give me mini projects to work on every week, keeping me
focused and re-energised. In the past week, I’ve found other 52-related
projects that I’m considering adding on. Thanks to Susannah Conway’s love of
sharing I discovered 52 Bites and 52 Lists which I’m keen to write about. And
as a bonus, to continue on being in the moment, I decided to take on the the creative challenge: a month of inspiration. It’s pretty exciting
taking on board these changes and turning them into everyday habits. I feel
like I can tackle every day with my head that little bit higher and my heart
soaring.