SDD Clutter Free Day 13: Magazines and Visualizations of Life and Home

Nope, still awesome.

Happy Sunday, or whatever day you read this on! It's Day 13 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown, so today I decluttered 18 items. Emily's prompt for the day is to visualize the end result of decluttering, so you can easily tell when something doesn't fit your vision. I love this prompt. 

I have a feeling my Pinterest boards are filled with images that no longer resonate with me. In this last year, my values have changed.

If you've followed my decluttering this past week, you know just in the last few days I've changed. I went from someone who coveted a large, personal home library, to someone who sees more benefit to using free resources. I just got my library card last month. (I had one in Washington, but I put off getting my Los Angeles County Library Card for almost a year after moving.) I've already become familiar with some of the librarians, if not by name, at least by face. That sense of community is part of what I'm building right now by minimizing my belongings.

Is it laughable that now I'm thinking about decluttering my Pinterest boards? I'm enjoying that image. It's a chore for the Age of Information! The promise when we make those boards is that we're going to revisit them for inspiration, so logically, having cluttered Pinterest boards is like having a closet full of clothes you don't wear. They're not being used for their intended purpose. They're just taking up space.

At least my Weekday Gourmet board is always current! Gotta love Pinterest for collecting recipes. Mmm.

One thing I've figured out is that visualizing can be difficult when there's too many options. In my

This board's still awesome, too.
I was right that there's a bunch
of personal libraries in there, though,
and other unnecessary attachment,
like big kitchens.

life right now, I don't know if I'll be able to afford my apartment much longer. I might need to move in with a roommate or move to a less expensive city. When I visualize what I want, it's to stay here and keep building towards my goals here, and I'm mostly working toward that vision. At the same time, I wonder if it's worth it to hang up a picture if I'm going to have to take it down soon.

That uncertainty is why I'm focused on minimalism and flexibility. My security in the near future will not come from having my kitchen perfectly organized, but from having fewer kitchen tools, so it's easier and less expensive to move. If I manage to keep this apartment, I know I will still reap the benefits of simple living.

On that note, I don't want it to feel like a loss if I move. I want to feel excited for the new experiences wherever I go. I feel very attached to some of my furniture. I so carefully selected it and took on the cost and effort to move it here with me, but it's still just stuff. Besides, the pieces I'm thinking of now, my bookcase and entertainment storage console, they were Craigslist finds. If it brings me joy to find beautiful, practical, inexpensive furniture online, it shouldn't upset me to think of getting rid of anything.

Someone else will get to experience gratitude for these items. Then someday maybe I'll go through the process again, and the new pieces will be even more appropriate for my life at that time.

I'm preparing myself to get rid of one piece of furniture, maybe for my last day, that one special item. We'll see. To get to that place, I'll have to clear out a lot more items first!

Day 13: Declutter 18 Items

Real Simple Magazines.

The weather's cooled down a bit, so they cats are back to
following me around the apartment.

Elle Decor Magazines.

HGTV Magazines.

Vegetarian Times Magazines.

My original plan was to read one magazine each night and declutter it as one item toward my goal the next day. It only worked once. My reading mojo has gone towards books for book club. I do still want to read these magazines before getting rid of them to get my money's worth (or my dad's Coke rewards' worth, in the case of Real Simple :)). At this point, I'm committing to getting rid of them by the end of the first week of October, read or not.

I'm dedicating that week to selling or donating all the items I collect in this countdown, so it's a reasonable deadline for recycling magazines as well.

No more magazines will come into the house from now on. If I really want to read an issue, I'm going digital!

Amazon Affiliate: All Amazon links in this post go to digital magazine subscriptions to save trees and shelf space. Magazine search.

SDD Clutter Free Day 11: The Wire Drawer, and Going All In Vs. Baby Steps

The "before" pile, all pulled from one drawer.

It's Day 11 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Countdown, which means I got to declutter 20 items! I also really like the prompt today, which was to think about the benefits of making a big push. It can be hard to know when to go all in and when to take baby steps. I talked about it in A Bath of Ice Water, when I made a calendar of what my Dream Day would look like, and committed to it.

If you dip your toe in ice water, you're going to pull it back out and say, "No way I'm getting in that!" If you dunk your whole body in, you'll adjust faster and, anyway, you made it into the water. Even if it's uncomfortable, you did it.

From all my experiments trying to better myself, I think I've figured out when to go full-dunk and when to go slow.

Baby steps seem to work best for establishing habits in any area where you feel shame or uncertainty.

The ice water method seems to work best for building new habits in areas where you aren't ashamed but you know there's room for improvement.

For example, I felt shame about my sleep, eating, and cleaning habits. I couldn't seem to get any of them regular, and it made it so much harder for me to function that I felt like a less effective/useful/worthy person. I had to practice self-compassion, forgiveness, and acceptance before I could make progress. To put it another way, I had to feel completely okay with how I was doing things already and then make small changes to create better habits.

The Dream Day calendar did not work for me because it was too muddled with uncertainty, not only in the calendar itself (a dinner hour is great, but you gotta have a plan for dinner), but I also felt uncertain about my ability to pull it off. Building up routines in 1-hour increments is working much better.

Alternatively, I don't have shame about my clutter. I have a healthy dose of Privilege Guilt, having an apartment to myself when my neighbors live six to a unit, but all it does is push me to be more mindful of my resources. I don't feel like my belongings define who I am as a person in a negative way. I'm also confident in my organizational skills, so that gives me fuel to get through a massive decluttering project like this one.

I'm still taking baby steps in other areas of my life: routines, budget, skill-building. I mean, baths of ice water are invigorating and make you feel like a badass, but you have to go through discomfort to get to that awesome feeling, so I guess what I'm saying is: take the pressure off and choose a challenge for yourself that you know you're ready for.

I'm also writing this to pat myself on the back for choosing the perfect challenge for myself. I believe celebrating accomplishments is a way to practice gratitude. I am rocking this Clutter Free Countdown!

Day 11: 20 Items Decluttered

1-7. Ethernet cables. HOW? WHY? Seven?

8. Phone or camera computer hookup. Doesn't belong to any technology I have, and didn't ring a bell with my brothers.
9. Power cord. Might go to a piano keyboard. I'm waiting for my brothers to check the keyboard at our parents' house tomorrow, but however it goes, it goes.
10. Printer cable. I just bought this a few weeks ago. Such a bummer it got crushed. I don't even know how or when it happened.
11. iPod charger. It's too old to charge my phone or tablet and I never use it for my old iPad because it works with the new chargers.
12. Cassette to ipod adapter, broken.
13. RGB cable. I'm using HDMI now.
14. X-box to USB adapter. I'll send this back to my brothers.
15, 16. Computer power cables. Everything's plugged in and working so I clearly don't need these.
17. Y-cord splitter packaging. Such a big bag for such a small item. I moved the splitter to where I keep my headphones, a more logical place for it.
18. Promotional mousepad.
19. Another RGB cable.
20. iPhone charger smashed beyond repair.

I'm keeping one USB-to-USB cord, one HDMI cord, the y-cord splitter, a wireless printer kit, headphones, and the Wiimotes. I'm not going to store them in the same drawer for two reasons.

A. They don't need a whole drawer anymore.
B. Seems these drawers have become quite the roach habitat!

Gross.

The two drawers left are full of placemats and plastic grocery bags. I'm disgusted to think how many roaches are living in there if any were in the boring wire drawer. I'll have to remove everything from that storage console so when I disrupt them, they don't disperse into my other belongings. It might take me some time to work up the courage.

I'm open to suggestions.

SDD Clutter Free Day 7: A House Fire, Cats, Turning Away from Family, and 24 Items

The townhouse I used to live in burned down in a dryer fire. I'm grateful no humans were hurt, but devastated for the three cats that died. I'm also thinking about all the care and attention I gave that home, the first place I lived as an adult on my own. I'm thinking of the roommate experiences and friends falling asleep on my couch, and playing video games with my brothers, and earning my Associates degree. I'm thinking of how safe I felt there when I struggled with agoraphobia. Thinking of my own cats sitting in those windows after I just painted the sills (Oh, the paw prints). Thinking of my friends helping me swap tiles and install lights as I prepared to move to Bellingham. And, because everything reminds me of a song: 

"We are ships on an ocean, passing on our way back home...What we lose in the fire, we gain in the flood." -The Mynabirds.

That's been my theme song for the last couple months, "What We Gained in the Fire." I even wrote about it in my Dealing with Difficult Circumstances post, before the fire ever happened. When the lyrics mention "home," it could be a lot of things, some kind of heaven, maybe. When I listen to the song, I think of a state of mind, a feeling of peace. Basically it's the "Let it Go" of indie pop.

What we gain by letting go...you can see why I'd obsess over a song about that with all that's going on: the serious decline in my mom's health, my former home burning down, a massive decluttering effort (might not compare on an emotional level, but it does stir things up), and today I decided to turn away from some people who regularly shame me for my anxiety or any way I differ from them.

The people I turn away from today, I turn away from them with an open heart. Should they make a gesture of true connection, I will not be blind to it. I am grateful I have so many friends to guide me back to a place of self-compassion when those people make me question my worth, but I won't let them do that anymore.

There's art in all of this. This declutter countdown has opened my eyes to so many complexities that don't need to be that way. The stuff, sure, but also thought patterns, relationships, other people's standards, expectations. It's time for the unnecessary or harmful to go. The family who lost their home will have to grieve. Grief is not clutter.

But this week I learned we can find things to unburden, even with a heavy heart. We take small actions toward peace of mind. Things don't have to be with you to be a part of you.

Now for an awkward transition to the stuff. Here's my physical decluttering effort for the day.

Day 7: 24 Items Decluttered

1. Child's scarf. From when I was a child. I like adult sized scarves now FOR SOME REASON so I never wear this one. 

It's better if you don't take the picture
 during the cats' dinnertime.

2. Green...scarf? Maybe it's a summer scarf?
3-5. Belts.
6. Hoodie thing. I wanted a lightweight hoodie for cool but not cold L.A. nights, but since it's rayon, it doesn't breathe and only works on cold nights when I'd rather bundle anyway.
7. Tiny bag I'm sure gifted jewelry came in.
8. Tickets to nothing.
9. Scarf hanger from store display.
10. Remote I never set up for my old laptop.
11-13. Stacks of paper!! I made three piles and actually cleared the whole box! I'M DONE

WITH PAPER! I thought it was a huge undertaking to deal with that whole box of papers, but I made one stack a day and I did it!
14, 15. Paper bag pillowcases my brother made as a placeholder gift for me to open when the pillowcases he ordered hadn't arrived. I might cut out the drawings, but I think pictures will be enough.

16-18. Toiletry travel bags. I only need one, if that.
19-22. Lotions and cleansers inherited when my aunt decluttered her bathroom. I'm getting rid of

them for the same reason she did: too many chemicals. Most products end up hurting my skin more than helping.
23. Magazine.
24, Collapsible hamper. Weirdly, I have a sentimental connection to this hamper. I think because my cat, Jolie, likes to play with it. But I have a sorting hamper with three bags in it, and just minimized my wardrobe, so I hope I don't need four hampers!

Alright, well, I had a long to-do list, but it's been

a hard day, so I think I'm gonna call it over and go rest. I am proud of myself for getting through that box of papers, decluttering these items, writing this blog post, setting interpersonal boundaries, and finding healthy ways to mourn the loss of my former home.

Word. (I wrote this in 750words.com and needed one more word.)

Here's the gofundme campaign info for the family that lived in my former townhouse. I left them a small donation and comment. Community outreach is so important. Please check it out.

Help Laura & Chris after fire

"This tragedy is the most heart breaking and devastating thing we've ever had to endure. Words cannot describe the emotions we've felt having to say good bye so suddenly to our babies and the place we've called home. Through this hardship, we have our lives and health to be so incredibly thankful for. We could not have gone through this without the overwhelming love and support we've received from friends and family near and far. As we rebuild, mourn, and heal from this tragedy we want everyone who's helped us to know how grateful we are and how much we appreciate you. From the bottom of our hearts." - Laura Galletly

http://www.gofundme.com/2d39dvxw

SDD Clutter Free Day 2: What I Gain by Decluttering

It's Day 2 of the So Damn Domestic Clutter Free Challenge. Today as I selected my 29 items to declutter, I thought about what I gain from getting rid of things. I listened to a podcast on simple living while I did dishes last night. It was episode 57 of “Smart and Simple Matters” with Joel Zaslofsky. The episode featured Dee Williams, who built her own tiny house. I was moved by so many things she said, like when she compared time in nature to time spent with children. Both inspire us, and, as Joel observed, both humble us when we realize we can't control everything.

That seems to be the bottom line--control. If I have my own library, I control that. If I have my own chef's kitchen, I control that. (Both examples Dee used.) The alternative is to let go of control. That humility is freedom. I don't want to spend my life managing all these little things. If I don't own books, I gain so much from taking advantage of the public library. I get to know the librarians there and feel like part of a community. I probably read MORE, because I build routines to make sure I finish and return books on time.

Chef's appliances still sound pretty good to me, admittedly, but I agree I don't need a lot of storage space and a stuffed pantry. Employing a kind-of-strict grocery budget has made me more mindful of my eating experience: planning, shopping, preparing, serving, eating, cleaning. The process feels much more connected. I'm definitely seeing the truth in "less is more" in that area of my life. I thought I liked being able to choose from a shelf full of snacks. Turns out I like the snack more when I only have one to choose from and know I have to ration it for a week.

When I gave homemade lentil soup to my grandparents, that act of sharing gave me so much more joy because it was a product of this mindful kitchen.

So that's what I'm looking to gain by decluttering: humility, gratitude, and community.
(And, now, "What We Gained in the Fire" by The Mynabirds is stuck in my head again. Not that that's a problem.)
Day 2: Declutter 29 Items

1-3. Three tops I love but they don't fit.

Tyrone was my "helper" today.

4. Shorts I was hoping to be able to wear under dresses to prevent chaffing, but they're too short to do any good.
5-13. Uncomfortable underwear and hosiery.
14. Another almost-gone lotion.
15-18. Hazelnut coffee candies. I don't seem to like them enough to eat them intuitively. I decided to move them to where I keep my vitamin sorter, and enjoy one each morning this week. Small way to not be wasteful and to experience gratitude instead of turning my nose up because I don't totally love them.
19-23. Glycine supplements. I put these with my vitamin sorter, too, to take at night. Might as well.
24, 25. Magazines, read last night. I'm working my way through a sizeable stack, taking pictures of recipes or ideas I like, and then good riddance. (And no more subscriptions.)
26, 27. Outdated money managing software. No need for physical copies of software these days.
28. Dance Dance Revolution pad. I can't handle all that jumping with joint pain. I think I thought I'd be using it for guests or babysitting, but if it hasn't happened in a year, I think I can live without it.
29. Stack of papers.
Oops, 30, 31. Can openers. I don't need three can openers. I thought about saving those for tomorrow, but I got off easy with the candies and glycine packets, so I better leave the can openers on today's list for good measure.

I'm feeling the effects of decluttering already. A lot of the items from today and yesterday came out of my bedroom closet, which I can actually get into now. Of course, at this point, most of it's just moved to a pile in the middle of my bedroom floor. (Insert laughter here.)

The SDD Clutter Free starter kit comes with printable labels for sell, donate, toss, return, keep. I wouldn't recommend skipping that step. It's a big mess. Part of the issue is I want to sell or trade (for groceries or services) as much as I can. That holds me back from just taking it all to Goodwill at the end of each day.

I'm still researching ways to organize a sale, or bunch of sales, if I do it online. In any case, I'm excited to keep collecting items to declutter and see this through!

Better Life Meditation with Lynn Le: A Night of Coping Lessons

"Tomorrow, I'm going to practice new coping skills through meditation."

A week ago Friday, I sat on my couch as the sun set, not bothering to adjust the lights. My day had gone as planned: wakeup routine (including the laundry AND the stretching parts!), 750words daily challenge, healing writing project, work hours--all good.

Yet I felt unsettled. Anxiety's been coming back intermittently since my mom had all those health scares a couple weeks ago. That’s why I haven’t been blogging.

I knew if I stayed home that night, I’d end up watching TV until my mind went numb, so I made a choice to fight my withdrawing impulse and go try something new: a meditation event at a nail salon.

When I got there, a woman opened the door for me and gestured down a hallway. It opened into a well-decorated, fully-outfitted nail salon. (Lots of purples--of course I would like like it!) A woman stood at a podium near the front entrance, sorting papers.

"Looks like nobody's coming," she said.

"Oh really?" I asked, "There were 7 RSVPs, weren't there? I can leave if you want to cancel."

"No, no," she said, "This is better. For you."

She uncoiled a white mat and tossed down some pillows. I started to sit perpendicular to her, like I would've if it were a larger group sitting in a circle.

"You can sit in front of me. It's just us," she said. I felt on display there, suddenly aware that I'm three times her weight, suddenly wishing I'd worn a shirt without spills on it. At the same time, I knew this was pretty cool. How many people have this experience of trusting a stranger enough to sit down with them and close your eyes?

She asked about my meditation experience and I told her I've been practicing Mindfulness Meditation and Secular Buddhism for about a year. I do a body scan meditation every night. But generally I'd still consider myself a newbie.

The type of meditation we did that night at the salon is called Frequency Meditation. I had done it before but my mind was still anxious and I didn’t make the connection. Frequency meditation relies on chakras and flows or blocks of energies. I don't believe in chakras, but I let myself be suggestible while I'm there, because I do believe in the power of the mind. If I visualize energy in my heart chakra for an hour, the act helps me cultivate love and compassion.

Lynn Le guided the meditation with the simple directions to, “Breathe, from your heart to your brain, and out through your mouth.” I tried, but I had a hard time visualizing that. As a singer, I regularly imagine my breath starting lower--more of a belly breath. When I imagined breathing into my heart, the breath felt limited and tight. Eventually I settled into my normal deep-breathing habits because I was more comfortable: deep belly breath, out through the nose. I continued to zone in on the phrase “from the heart to the brain,” though. Lynn Le held her hand out to use her vibrations to heal me.

We stayed like that for an hour, and then she asked if I felt anything. I answered honestly.

“I feel more relaxed. I feel connected to you. My breathing felt tight in the beginning, but now I breathe easily. My foot’s asleep.” I stretched my legs out in front of me. “It was hard to concentrate because my back hurt. I have a fractured vertebra, but I’m glad I made the effort.”

“Oh, really?” she asked.

“Well, the wing-shaped tip of a vertebra is fractured, not the whole thing. It’s an old injury, but it still hurts sometimes.”

She closed her eyes and said she would help me. We meditated again.

My back pain did get better. I think admitting out loud that I was hurting helped me adopt a more comfortable seating position, without trying to “look the part” of a meditator. But it could have been Lynn’s healing energy. Why not?

The most energizing part of the experience was the hour that followed. We talked about coping skills and depression. The lessons she gave were so beautiful and on-point, I had quite a few epiphany moments. I’m going to write these in list style so they’re easy to access and copy down for reference.

1. “Twirling water.” When someone causes conflict, you can respond, or you can collect yourself first. A quick comeback is like twirling your finger the opposite direction of spinning water. The water’s going to crash over the sides of the cup, make a mess, and leave you thirsty. However, if you wait until you are calm, the water will also calm.
   
   I experienced this when I got in an argument with my brother. Instead of saying the first angry things that came to mind, I vacuumed my living room rug. I meditated on how my environment is an extension of myself. Clean rug, clean mind. Then I sat down and did nothing for a while. The origins of my brother’s feelings became clearer, like taking a moment to breathe had made room for empathy. I responded to him thoughtfully. Later that night, he sent me an apology. If I had reacted with my initial anger, we might still be fighting.
   
2. “I don’t want to feel this feeling.” This lesson reminded me of Brene Brown’s work. Sometimes when we’re in a negative state, we try to get rid of it by numbing it or raging at nothing in particular. Since we can’t stop all negative things from happening, we get stuck in this dark pattern. It’s more productive to “sit with it,” feel what we’re feeling, and try to figure out where it comes from and what we can do about it.
   
   I keep re-learning that one. We can’t change everything else in the world, but we can change how we perceive it.
   
3. “Depression is an accumulation.” Every time we don’t resolve a feeling, we miss an opportunity to learn how to deal with difficulty. We might also develop a scar, a complex, an energy--whatever you want to call it, a hurt that can be triggered and hurt again.
   
   Lynn would describe this as a buildup of negative energies. When I told her I struggled with depression, she asked what caused it. After I told her what I thought caused it, she asked when that started. A lot of the triggers on my “Why I’m Depressed” list went back to when I was a child.
   
   I liked the way she saw things, with patience. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, thinking that because I’ve struggled for so long, I always will. But it’s not about that. If something bad happened to me as a child, but I never think about it now, it’s probably resolved. It’s the thoughts that keep returning that tell me where the healing needs to happen.
   
4. “The present is still the most important time to heal.” Even though we can look at overwhelming negative states as hurt accumulated, it doesn’t do a lot of good to look back unless the present is calm. We’d just accumulate more.
   
   From what I understand, current therapies agree with this idea. “Tell me about your mother” therapy isn’t really practiced anymore. It’s better to build up coping skills and then look back from a stronger place.
   

So, that’s the story of how one Friday night went from boring and anxiety-filled to an enlightening, new experience. I met an awesome person. She takes care of others all day at her spa and teaches meditation on top of that. She wants to spread healing and joy to as many people as she can.

The days that followed have been up and down. It’s a process getting back on my feet after a period of stress. I do feel more equipped this time around. The waters are as muddy as ever, but I float on top like a lotus.

Dealing with Difficult Circumstances: A Conversation

“Tomorrow, I’m going to deal with difficult circumstances.”

"Family" by Ana Yael, a curated
Art Print from Society6

My mom isn't doing so well. Her 5-day hospital stay didn't lead to a prognosis for her brain swelling and confusion. We're still in the dark. She has Neurofibromatosis Type II. She always said her biggest fear was being alive but "checked out." I'm devastated that this is happening, but trying to stay positive by focusing on what's actionable going forward. If you want to brighten my day, register to walk with my team for the NF Walk Los Angeles or donate to show your support.

I'm researching ways to deal with difficult circumstances. More accurately, I have to deal with the difficult circumstances of right now, and I hope to find patterns that will help me cope with difficulties throughout the rest of my life.

I'm not even sure what "deal with difficult circumstances" means yet. Does it mean being able to do your job despite personal stress? If so, when do you process the feels? Does "dealing" mean processing the feels so they don't consume you, or knowing how to get back to being okay after they do?


One thing I do know: "dealing" isn't about "not feeling." One of my friends and I have a system in which, if one of us needs to talk, we say, "I have feels." The other person will ask, "Are they big feels?" The friend who needs help says something like, “They’re medium-to-large feels.” And then we share congratulations, because it's so easy to be numb these days. Feelings show us where the love is.

My anger at the hospital's inattention: it's a disguise for the love I have for my mom. 

To see the love behind negatives is to practice gratitude. Maybe having tools like gratitude is the answer to what it means to "deal with difficult circumstances." I still want some sort of metric to measure my "dealing" by, but I have to come to terms with: that might not be possible. I don't have a strict definition of "success," so why do I need a clear picture of what "dealing" or "coping" look like?

Let's all just feel what we feel.


In the spirit of feels, here's 5 things that I've been returning to a lot lately because they make me feel feelings:

1. "What We Gained in the Fire" by the Mynabirds. Incredible song. My imagination takes me somewhere different every time I hear it. I don't know why YouTube kept taking me out of full screen mode at the end of each play-through, as if I wasn't going to push play and watch it again, over and over.

2. "IDGAF" by Watsky. I love how the video is Watsky having a party with the monsters under his bed. It's a rap about the freedom of living in the moment and having meaningful priorities. And speaking of...

3. "The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F***" by Mark Manson. This article is my new favorite thing. I don't know if it's pent up anger because of the situation back home or my general disdain for decorum, but I find all the curse words refreshing. It's also funny ("I don’t even know what that sentence means, but I don’t give a [f***]. A bag of burritos sounds awesome, so let’s just go with it.") and quite thoughtful. Sometimes I read something and think, Maybe I should give up being a writer because that person just said everything I've been trying to say. This is one of those articles.

4. "Today Means Amen" by Sierra DeMulder. A spoken word poem that's like a motivational speech. My favorite line is "You, the teacher, the starter's gun, the lantern in the night that offers not a way home, but the courage to travel farther into the dark." It's absolutely beautiful and I cry every time. Big, ugly cries.

5. Enjoying my cats. Sometimes of think of them as tiny tigers. Today I took videos of me waking them up. I had a distract-able moment and couldn't resist. I love how much their personalities show in their reactions, and I love their fat, happy kitty tummies.

I'm having technical difficulties with the videos.
In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of Jolie and Tyrone.

Here's the link to the NF Walk page again. 

Please feel free to comment below if you have any thoughts on how to define "dealing with difficult circumstances" or want to geek out with me over something in my 5 things list.