{"id":5993,"date":"2012-04-28T14:09:21","date_gmt":"2012-04-28T18:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/?p=5993"},"modified":"2012-04-28T22:56:51","modified_gmt":"2012-04-29T02:56:51","slug":"the-bright-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/?p=5993","title":{"rendered":"The Bright Side"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever had a day when you start to doubt everything, up to and including your worth as a person? If you have, then you know what a terrible kind of day that is. It&#8217;s the kind of day when you don&#8217;t want to do anything. At all.<\/p>\n<p>The fix for that kind of day is, ironically, to do something. Almost anything will help, as long as it isn&#8217;t a mopey or self-destructive activity.<\/p>\n<p>So I am going to do something. I am going to write. I don&#8217;t have the mental strength or the proper mindset to write a story or anything like that, so I&#8217;m just going to make a list. Lists are easy. And because this list is supposed to cheer me up, it is going to be a list of happy things. Bright side only. Here goes.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The combination of bugle, bluets, northern downy violets, and dwarf cinquefoil has created a colorful, meadowy area in a formerly barren corner of our backyard. It is beautiful, and I am happy that I can call the flowers by name.<\/li>\n<li>The second round of violets is blooming. This round includes the larger, whiter white violets that I love so much. Are they a different kind than the blue-shot white violets that bloom earlier? Possibly, because their petals are broader and more rounded, but I don&#8217;t know. They are different to me, though, and that&#8217;s all that matters. I picked a lovely bouquet of them this morning. It perks up the kitchen.<\/li>\n<li>I got lunch prepared in time to avoid all hungry-toddler screaming. Plus they both ate their lunches without complaint. Amazing.<\/li>\n<li>Livia looks extra pretty today.<\/li>\n<li>The chicks peep every so often, reminding me of their adorable, fluffy little presences in our mudroom.<\/li>\n<li>My new photo book arrived today. It is a combination of the two Marshall books I did before, but with a few changes made to improve it. I ordered it because we wanted him to have his own copies of the books. Whether he will get the original two or the slightly improved two-volumes-in-one, I&#8217;m not sure. I had thought to give him the big book, but it looks so nice that I might have to keep it for myself.<\/li>\n<li>On Wednesday, I did away with some deadline work, allowing me to set a relaxed pace for the remainder of the week.<\/li>\n<li>I am full of creative ideas lately. It&#8217;s such a nice feeling.<\/li>\n<li>I used to hate olives. I decided to try them again recently because the kids like them so much. I&#8217;m glad I did, because now I like olives, both green and black. Yum-yum.<\/li>\n<li>I&#8217;m also glad that I submitted a story for NPR&#8217;s Three-Minute Fiction contest, because it motivated me to read some of the other submissions. I am blown away by the quality of the stories so far. Who knew it was possible to say so much with so few words?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Well, the list-making exercise seems to have worked. I&#8217;m feeling a little better. I think I&#8217;ll take Marshall out now while Livia is napping and experience the bright side of a sunny day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever had a day when you start to doubt everything, up to and including your worth as a person? If you have, then you know what a terrible kind of day that is. It&#8217;s the kind of day &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/?p=5993\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5993"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5993"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6003,"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5993\/revisions\/6003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bluefootedmusings.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}