Struggling for Simplicity in Family Relationships

Relationships can be tough, and familial relationships can be even tougher. Maybe it’s the whole ‘blood is thicker than water’ idea, or maybe it’s just the fact that we can’t really escape them – but family is here to stay even though sometimes, I’d really like a break. I don’t mean this with any kind of anger, but sometimes my family really gets in the way of the stress-less, simpler life that I crave. You may remember from my first Simple Living post that I have a big family. To clarify, that means two brothers, two sisters, my parents and a step-parent, my parents-in-law, and four brothers-in-law. All of them live within 35 minutes of my husband and me. I chat weekly with one grandmother, who was recently moved to Florida, and I am occasionally in touch with my other grandparents and several other aunts, uncles and cousins. I love them all. But I could do […]

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Fighting Distraction with Focus

Most days I get dozens and dozens of emails, and these are just the ones that are legitimate. They’re from clients, vendors and co-workers. I love that I can use email to communicate quickly, how email provides a paper trail for records, and how it supplements my organization of tasks. But I don’t love the way it complicates my life.  In some ways, it’s made my life fragmented and frustrated. I crave the moments when I can get off the grid and leave all technology behind.  Here’s an example: email is the bane of my existence when I’m trying to focus on a project or lengthy task. Unfortunately, I’m of the makeup that, when I see the little box slide in at the upper right of my screen I feel like I have to check the email. If it’s a request for something that only takes a minute or two to […]

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