I Need More of All of That

Day Three: What do I need more of in my life?

Sleep.
Kissing.
Snuggles.
Girlfriend time.
Beach days.
Money.
Sunshine.

In the grand scheme of things, my life is pretty good. I have all of what I need in order to function and survive. I have a good job that I like a lot (most days); I make enough money to pay (most of) my bills. I have a roof over my head, food in my fridge, and the means to grab happy hour with friends when I want to. My car is reliable, and I don't have to live in too much worry (outside of the fact that Donald Trump is the President, that is). I have a great family and great friends who love me, and a cat who cuddles me and keeps me laughing at her insane antics.

All in all, I don't have a whole lot to gripe about.

Except politics. I definitely have a lot of political griping to do.

And yet, I think we are all guilty of falling victim to the daily routine, and until someone asks us what we're missing, we may not really even realize it. Don't get me wrong - I always know when I am not getting enough sunshine.

#popsvitamindsupplementimmediately

But I do think really, we don't always catch on right away as to the things in our lives we need more of. I am just as guilty - I am incredibly busy at work, and without realizing it, I spend a lot of days like this:

Wake up.
Hit snooze two to four times.
Feed Juno before she claws out my eyes or bites off my toes.
Shower and think up a new excuse to go another day without washing my hair.
Get dressed and go to work.
Work for 8-12 hours, and then go home.
Feed Juno again.
Watch TV. Maybe do some dishes or a load of laundry. Maybe fall asleep on the couch.
Go to bed.

And when I stop and think, what do I need more of in my life...that's when I realize that my routine can be quite boring. So yes, there are things I need more of in my life. And I really do try to focus on obtaining some of those things, making more of those things happen, finding the time & means to manifest those things.

I think I need more sleep. But really, that's not even true. I need better sleep. I need to go to bed on time, and I need to turn my phone off earlier so I can turn off my brain and actually get a good night of sleep. I have made myself stop falling asleep with the TV on, which has immensely helped me fall asleep and then stay asleep. I'm tired, but I think really I just need to focus on taking care of myself and allowing myself to stop stressing enough to get my 8 hours of good, quality sleep.

Last night, for example, I went to bed at 10:00, which is pretty normal for me - but then instead of playing on my phone or watching TV until midnight, I turned everything off and was asleep fairly quickly. And I woke up an hour before my alarm went off, which I never do. I got to have that Sunday Morning feeling on a work day, which is so rare - I got up, cuddled on the couch, watched the news, and took my time getting ready - I need more of that, for sure.

I think I need more kissing and more snuggling. And really, that one is true. I am a cuddle bug. I could literally spend every day snuggling with someone. And I find that in my experience, the more time I spend kissing someone or the more nights I spend cuddling with them, the more insatiable I become and the more time I want to spend kissing and snuggling. I just like it. I don't get enough of it, and I like the warm, safe vibe I get from all of it. #sorrynotsorry for whomever is currently stuck snuggling with me; it can be an overwhelming task I'm sure.

I definitely need more girlfriend time. I am the one of my friends who is single and doesn't have kids, and I am the one of my friends who lives all the way in Wilsonville. So it can be challenging to find a lot of girlfriend time - especially because I don't necessarily see time spent with my friends and their children as real girlfriend time. If I have to edit the content of my stories, refrain from talking about sex or saying the word fuck, or take 200 hours to tell a story because a kid is interrupting every three seconds, that doesn't really count as quality time spent with my girlfriends. I mean come on. We're in our thirties, and I want to sit in a booth with hummus and a cocktail, or drink beer on a patio, or see a ranchy movie with my friends.

And for the record, I don't believe I need to feel guilty for expecting that from my friends. Because the reality is, 98% of the time, I tolerate your kid so I can hang out with you - do me the service of getting a babysitter the other 2%, right? For some reason, a large percentage of the population seems to believe that I am the ass hole because I *gasp* don't want to be around their children as much as they do. And it always makes me laugh because in the small amount of time I do manage to tear my friends from their children, they often spend a lot of time bitching about how obnoxious their kid is.

Yea...I know...that's why I invited you to a bar, so they had to stay home with their dad.

I've really written about that before, and it continues to be prevalent in my world. I get it. Being 34 and kid-free, I am the minority. That's why I am 98% of the time willing to (and happy to, honestly) spend quality time with my friends, kids in tow. I just also happen to believe that some time in the land of adults, is good for people.

I always need more beach days. Mostly because I need to actually live there. So until I have 365 beach days every year, I will need more beach days.

Let's be real, we could all use more money. I had a really interesting conversation a few weeks ago about how no one makes enough money anymore to support the rent and housing market. and that basically, based on that none of us will ever get to retire.

Also I would like to be able to leave the country once per year, and get at least one new tattoo every 6 months. That'll be my measure of true life success I think. Plane tickets and tattoos: the measure of how well I'm doing at life.

I need more sunshine. Me and everyone else living in the Pacific Northwest, right? I suffer from seasonal affective disorder, or SAD as they so appropriately call it, and I have to take 3,000IU of Vitamin D for about 8 months out of the year to ensure I don't hurl myself over a bridge in February on the 212th day of rain in a row. I need more sunshine, for sure. I probably need to spend some of my 365 beach days per year on a beach in Mexico or the Bahamas where it's sunshiney for me; that would likely solve all of my life problems.

In general, I think we could all benefit from just getting out of the grind every once in a while and trying to remember that if all we do is get up, go to work, and come home, then there's really not all that much purpose to life. While I can't instantly satisfy all of the things I believe I need more of, I can certainly set myself some realistic goals, make small changes, create better habits, and ensure that I am having more fun in my life. Sure I have to get up and go to work every day - but the day doesn't have to start with me flying out of bed in a rush to get ready, after not getting enough sleep. Life isn't intended to just meander through; sometimes ya gotta shake it up a little bit and have some fun.