Queen Me speaks . . .

Here’s the deal. There are some chores that I simply hate. I put them off or tuck them away until finally I must face my disgust. Ha! Okay, here's the one I hate at the moment. It’s sorting laundry. Interestingly, washing and drying clothes really doesn’t bother me that much. But, putting them away (yikes!). I had a basket of clean clothes sitting around my laundry room for two weeks this time. After tiring of looking at the daily reminder, I stuffed the entire basket (clothes and all) in a coat closet. Ha! That worked for a little while. And, to make matters worse, with each washing the pile just grew bigger and bigger. Double yikes! Finally, this morning, I lugged the tall basket of clothes up the stairs (what was I thinking?) and got to work. Relief! Much better.

Of course, now there are already two or three loads piled up in the dirty-clothes basket for yet another round of wash, dry and sort. Ugh.

One more gripe and then I’ll move on. I despise cleaning floors. I think the “bad feelings” originated from my childhood. You see, that was usually my assigned task—sweeping and mopping. Now, if my mother reads this she’d probably laugh. In fact, I’m sure she’d wonder what the heck I’m talking about. Allyn, sweep or mop? Well, I did, but not without complaining profusely while swearing off that duty when I eventually ruled my own roost (make that queendom).

But, no matter, I still occasionally find myself with a broom or mop in hand. The Universe can be nice, though. I married a guy that doesn’t mind that particular chore and will often gift clean floors to me.

Today, I got an e-mail from Tracey Smith, columnist. Tracey writes about “downshifting.” Have you heard of it? Supposedly, our very own Queen Mother wrote an article for Tracey’s column this week.

The Queen Mother shares in the article . . .

“Downshifting means taking life down a few notches, removing yourselves from the rat race of a stressed out life, and turning overdrive into a thing of the past. Whether you leave the city or even the country, downshifting gives life a new flavor to be savored.”

To read her article and check out Tracey Smith’s column go to: frenchentree.com/fe-downshifting.com (you'll have to cut and paste in your web browser).

Queen Me wraps this one up . . .

You'll probably hear more about downshifting in the months to come. It's something being talked about on a grand scale. From the little research I've performed, you'll find many degrees of downshifting being encouraged. Some go so far as to grow their own food and make their own household items while others do things like downsize their cars. The positive aspect of the overall message is that you do have a choice about how to live your life and as a result many people are opting out of crazy schedules and work-dominated routines. It's a personal choice, but probably one worth invesigating if you feel off balance or overburdened.

I was reading Goal Sisters yesterday (the book I mentioned in the Queen-zine this week) and the authors (Ann Leach and Michelle Beaulieu Pillen) talked about the subject. Actually, they focused more on the idea of self-care, which in my opinion is very similar.

Throw in children, chores, work, domestic responsibilities, and extracurricular activities and you quickly realize how hard it is to find time for yourself. Here's what Ann and Michelle had to say about it in their book: "1. Being 'selfish' can also mean taking care of yourself emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually so that you can be a better mom, partner, friend, employee, sister, aunt and so on. 2. Self-care may mean shifting some responsibilities with grace as you make room in your life to achieve your own goals. 3. Making self-care a priority may improve your relationship with yourself--especially the part of you that walks through life like a robot and the part of you that doesn't know what you want because you haven't given yourself the luxury of ever finding out."

So, like the title of this blog suggests . . .

Yes, you have chores and other things that bore or frustrate you. Yes, you have responsibilities. But wrapped up in a busy, frenzied life is you. To move beyond the chaos, listen to Ann and Michelle or take time to investigate downshifting. But do take the time, it's important!

Okay, gotta run. I'm going to go looking for some self-care activities. And, on my way out the door, I'm going to hide the dirty clothes basket in the coat closet. Ah, yes. Much better:).

goalsisters.com (for information about the book)

queenpower.com (for information about the queen-zine)