Sunday thoughts 2017/04/16

On Getting Help:
My parents are elderly and were unable to take charge of the move themselves so it was up to us, their children, to take care of the details. I asked for and received family help for the move. For this I’m grateful.

I dealt with three companies, one for the bin rental and moving supplies, one for the moving truck and movers, and one for cable TV and Internet service. The staff who spoke with me on the phone from all three companies were friendly and helpful, without sales pitch. The workers who I met in person smiled and acted professionally. I appreciated their smiles and good work. I now have some restored faith on good customer service.

On To-Do Lists:
I usually have a short to do list for my daily living. As soon as we knew my parents would be moving, I prepared an additional to do list for their move. I noted what needed to be done in an electronic file, went through the list almost daily, and changed the font colour of completed items so I could see visually what was still outstanding. If I had not done this, I would have forgotten something. I’m happy that the move went smoothly, my parents are settling in their new home, and that to do list is now closed so I can focus on my own list!

On Letting Go:
Packing and unpacking for my parents reminded me about the importance of letting go of material things that are not meaningful or no longer useful. Small additions of stuff over time create clutter that is time-consuming and emotionally draining to clear. So just like saving money, decluttering needs to be done regularly, even in small amounts. A good defence would be to let into my home only things that are meaningful or useful.

Happy I’ve accomplished the following this past week:

Fitness:

• Exercised each weekday morning, except Thursday when the move was scheduled.
• Continued indoor swimming on Saturday and increased the number of laps from thirty to thirty four.
• Ran 5 km in about thirty minutes on Sunday. I could spend thirty minutes surfing the Internet but chose to run. Either way the time was gone. By choosing to run, I felt invigorated afterwards, and was rewarded with naturally rosy cheeks (ha)!
• Learned Spanish fifteen minutes daily.

Family:

• Completed my parents’ move while maintaining my own family routine.
• Enjoyed a relaxing Good Friday/ Easter long weekend with my family.

Fun:

• Entered the Ultimate KitKat Tasting giveaway on Laura’s The Occasional Nomads blog.
• Thinking and reading about visiting Gibraltar, Spain, and/ or Central Europe (Budapest, Bratislava and Prague).

What I look forward to this coming week:

• Making it another productive week.
• Having a fun family weekend getaway.

How was your week? What do you look forward to this coming week? Please feel free to share any travel tips you may have on Gibraltar, Spain, and Central Europe.