Sometimes perimenopause really kicks my butt and I ‘don’t feel like me’ for days at a stretch. Lately, I’ve been trying out something new… I work on something that I know makes me feel good… for me that’s math and drawing (usually zentangle because the very essence of the practice is there are no mistakes – all lines are good).

These things tend to not make me feel overwhelmed, which is a common feeling for me these days. I’ve been trying to really make an effort to give myself time to do the things that make me happy (spark joy, even 😉 ). When I was a kid, I always did my math homework first, because I just loved it. Oddly, I didn’t go to college to do anything with math, it was somehow overlooked by everyone (including myself) that this was something I enjoyed. A billion years later I’m going through old college math books, that I luckily kept. With all the other courses I took in college, math took a backseat and I am not as far along as I could be (or would like to be). So now that I’m an old middle-aged woman, I can return to these books and learn at my own pace, with no standing deadlines to rush me.

It’s freeing and oddly brings me joy. Especially when I feel that I understand a concept, and then do the odds* in the exercises at the end of a section I get most of them right… little victories.  (*the odd answers are in the back of the book)

It feels good, and makes me feel good about myself. 🙂

Lately, I’ve been playing around with brown paper, black ink, and white highlights for my zentangle…

And for the people who come to my blog for the pups… Duke and Penny lounging under my desk (their playpen is in the background full of pillows and blankets).

Until next time…
~nic