Collectibles, Dust and Memories: A Day in the Life Sunday

I don't collect things.

My aversion to having to pack and unpack a bunch of tiny little things each time I moved from home to college, college to military and station to station and then <here's my tipping point> having to dust the nooks and crannies of the not-so-precious figurines was enough for me to swear off collectibles as a young adult.

I'd be open to a nice collection of Swarvoski jewelry or another Charmed Memory for my bracelet but I don't have any interest in an accumulation of bric-a-brac, curios, whatnots or knickknacks.

Except for one - Vintage Josef Originals.

Likely a birthday gift for me as a young child, the August Birthstone Doll is a piece of my childhood sharing space with my adult life.

With a broken arm, chipped paint and dusty creases in her dress, the birthstone doll has traveled from home to college, college to military, and back home again.

I want to share the same with my January-born daughter.

The husband, kid and I like to peruse antique stores every now and then. My tolerance for too much stuff in one place is much less than theirs but I am on a quest.

The last January Birthstone Dolls were made in 1985. I know one could be on my doorstep tomorrow via eBay, Etsy, or Tias but I don't want to order, I want to discover.

In my quest, I discovered a graduation and a wedding dolls I didn't even know I was looking for. Score! I have the dolls set out  - not tucked away behind glass or in some closet  - so they are a part of our every day happenings.

Will they hold memories for the kid as she grows? Who knows but with 2 already here, another coming and my aversion to collectibles hovering in the background I've hit my limit with Josef Originals.

What have you carried with from your childhood to your adult life? What are you saving for your children? Do you collect? What do you collect? Why do you collect?

A Well-Paced Day: A Day in the Life Sunday

The alarm clock goes off in the morning and I am up.

No slow morning stretch here. I am instantly upright and out of bed as I wake to reminders, notifications and updates. Not the noisy ones I could set on my personal BB, my work BB or my iPad, but the imaginary - just as annoying ones - on the mental to-do list in my head. They are set off the moment my eyes open and they are all overdue.

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date . . . and so my days begin.

It is a frenetic pace that leaves me drained, ineffective and at times, feeling very alone, at the end of the day.

My friend, Becky Robinson, recently asked her readers, How Do You Pace Yourself?. When she described the pace of an enjoyable day for her, s I was right there with her. I know the feeling of a well-paced day and I've even said the words out loud, "This is such a great day. It has a nice pace to it."

In research from SHRM on the aspects most important to an HR professional's job satisfaction, communication between employees and senior management was at the top of the list with the largest gap (48%) between the level of importance and the level of satisfaction. My unofficial personal research says that this carries through to communication between a a stressed woman and her family, friends, and colleagues.

Those great days with such a nice pace I referenced earlier? They were filled with communication and in-the-moment connection. When I speed race through my days I get (a ton of) things done yet, if I am not careful, I can lose myself and my connection to those around me in the process.

In Alice, the White Queen believed in as many as six impossible things before breakfast. A well-paced day is not an impossible thing. Nor is a well-paced life. No rabbit holes required.

What's a girl to do? What do you do?

Photo credit: Return to Eden