Are Ya’ Having a Good Hare Day?

We delighted in fables during our childhood. The brightly colored pictures of talking animals illustrated great morals that would guide our lives.

We learned to not cry wolf.

We learned we shouldn’t eat someone else’s porridge, long before we knew what porridge was.

We learned to mark our trail into the forest with something other than breadcrumbs.

We learned to refuse apples from a strange women with a wart on the end of her long, twisted nose.

 

 

An adult who’s still pondering these early literary impacts,  I no longer see two characters in The Tortoise and The Hare. I see two creatures that fight within the womb of a woman’s soul.

Some days we’re the Tortoise, some days we’re the Hare.

My favorite days are the Good Hare Days.

I have energy and creativity bursting through my pores and I am pretty sure I could run the world, if only someone would ask me. It’s a rare eclipse, when good sleep, good health, and good hormones merge silently and perfectly together. The older I get, the less Good Hare Days I have. We women know to seize the day when this occurs.

On a Good Hare Day the house doesn’t smell like overflowing garbage, the kids are happy, there’s food in the fridge, the laundry is caught up, and the towels are stacked perfectly with the folds showing. A few long-term projects on the list were conquered, along with a few things that weren’t on the list.  Yes, I do write them down just so I can cross them off, don’t you?

Best usage of a Good Hare Day :

• plan major future events
• make a blog calendar or write few extra posts
• write out Honey Do lists for family
• prioritize long term project
• clean out closets or cupboards
• start a special project you’re dreaming about
• try a new recipe
• clean the garage
• shingle the roof (my husband always teases me about doing this on a GHD!)

It’s not a good time to watch a movie, read a book, or call a friend for a chat-a-thon. The scepter of energy is extended, go for it! Do those things that take all you have to give.

That is the best feeling in the world, ever!

SIGH.

I know Edna in The Incredibles says “No capes!” but on our Good Hare Days, I’m pretty sure we deserve one.

We also have our Tortoise Days. Due to health issues, insomnia, trials,  sick or nursing children, or a lack of motivation, we drag out of bed only because we’re grown-ups and have to get up.

Life doesn’t stop just because we want it to.

Do the next, tiny, little, unimportant thing. Eat. Answer one email. Put one thing away. Empty one garbage can. Make one meal. Shower. Run one errand.  Drink water. Label a few digital pictures. Clean out a hairbrush. Throw out junk mail. Clip a fingernail.

I can’t run the world because I can’t face the world, but I have to keep going. I don’t make myself a list because I would overwhelm myself. The ambition is to make it through the day intact. I evaluate my mental, physical, and spiritual energy and decide where to best invest what little I have.

These are the best days to sort through my life, because I’ll be more ruthless in cancelling email subscriptions, and getting rid of clothes I don’t wear, or pitching old food in fridge and cupboard. I don’t clean, just sort.  Since I’m already overwhelmed, I want to relieve the burden.

Best usage of a Tortoise Day:

• watch a movie (without folding laundry or reading a book)
• read a book (finish one of five stacked up on nightstand)
• call a friend
• hobby or craft time
• play an instrument/mood music
• day dream
• small projects that can be completed
• cook familiar family favorite meals
• purge one drawer

You don’t have to be amazing.

You don’t have to conquer the world.

You show up….one small task at a time.

As much as I love those Good Hare Days, Aesop’s Fable wasn’t a fable.

(From The Children’s Book of Virtues, edited by William J. Bennett and Illustrated by Michael Hague.) 

 

Slow and steady wins the race. 

This is good news for those struggling with long-term health issues or a gaggle of  adorable children.

When we plod along one task at a time, we’re still working towards the finish line.

And we may get there sooner than we thought.