Tuesday, April 24, 2012

U is for Utopia

I try not to, but sometimes I complain about the things I have to do each day.

There's a lot of this:

Image courtesy of Dez Pain, rgbstock.com


and even more of this:


Image courtesy of Sanja Gjenero, rgbstock.com

I feel like I'm always doing this:

Image courtesy of Sanja Gjenero, rgbstock.com


and I need to start doing way more of this:


Image courtesy of Sanja Gjenero, rgbstock.com

I feel like I spend all day doing this:

Image courtesy of Michal Zacharzewski, rgbstock.com


and sometimes I'm even "lucky" enough to get to do this:

Image courtesy of Sanja Gjenero, rgbstock.com


On any given day, there may be dishes stacked high in the sink and endless piles of laundry waiting to be washed, dried, and folded. My kids may be fighting in the living room, and I may be standing ankle-deep in water from an overflowing washing machine. The spaghetti may be boiling over, the phone may be ringing, and I may be wishing I could take a nap. Anything can happen, and anything usually does. Yet even though I sometimes grumble and complain about how I rarely get the time to do the things I want to do each day, one fact remains true: My life is exactly the way I want it--this family, this house, these not-always-functional appliances, and these unpredictable, crazy, beautiful days. I wouldn't have things any other way.

This is my Utopia.



What's your Utopia?

66 comments:

  1. Great post! But I don't know what my utopia is, thats a bit sad but true. Spending time laughing and chatting with family is probably close to it.

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  2. Loved this post. And the one about the tulips. I"m impressed you found a theme and stuck with it. I'm hanging in there with the letters but gosh, the theme thing was just too hard of an addition. Still, we are almost there. Almost to Z! Enjoy your blog.

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    1. Thanks, Patti! I appreciate your comments. :)

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  3. I like this, Dana! We're lucky we have these things to worry about. I actually don't mind the grocery shopping part...kind of like a challenge to get a deal. Also I love to snoop around at all the new products. The rest of the stuff you can Keep! ;-)

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    1. I agree: we are lucky that we have houses to clean and food to buy. Thanks, Fran!

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  4. Utopia comes in many forms for me. I think it truly depends on my mood of the day. Today my utopia would be in the garden in my front yard, planting a few more beauties!

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  5. hmmmm--i would love a perfect house and all the other things that go with a not so perfect house

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  6. Boy, did this take me back to those years of raising kids and dealing with daily chaos. That's when I started writing a weekly humorous column about all the nonsense, just to keep my sanity. the whole family liked it, especially the kid who got featured the most often. Sometimes I think they plotted to do bizarre things just so I would write about them. LOL

    Today, my utopia is my little farm where I have a horse a goat and a sheep and a few other critters, including my cats. I just came in from feeding them all and taking the dog for a walk. Nothing but beautiful scenery all around me and the birds bidding me good day.

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    1. Your farm sounds so peaceful and beautiful. It must be such a joy to experience that environment every day. :)

      Your column sounds fun! I used to be a journalist. I didn't write columns--just news, features, and sports. A few years later, I taught journalism, and I had some really talented student columnists.

      Thanks for your comment!

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  7. Yep, I know just what you mean. Even if I dream about a life where I eat fruit salad on the veranda while reading a magazine and sipping some iced tea, I really wouldn't trade this life in for anything.

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  8. I love this post. It's so good to let now be Utopia, because tomorrow may not be (but we hope it is, of course!). :)

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  9. So very nice how you summed it all up, even in the midst of all that, you have found utopia!! Enjoy those crazy days, the kids do grow up so quick!

    betty

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    1. I will, Betty. Sometimes I don't know if I'll make it through, but I see them growing and changing every day, and I just want to hold on to these moments as long as I can.

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  10. I appreciate the uproar of your "usual" day! Mine is very similar - the house is forever needing attention, but then I remember: my husband and I both are lucky enough to work from home in our own businesses. No 9-5 or crazy office politics. We are here for when the phone rings to pick up a sick child from school, to volunteer with the PTA, to stay home in PJs and work through the snowstorms without having to drive into work, etc. We really USE this beautiful house, 24-7. That is my Utopia!

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    1. I feel the same way. This is where I want to be. :)

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  11. Wow, a heck of a lot of the same. LOL.

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  12. I love your Utopia! I also live in Utopia every single day. My day to day is a little different than yours but I love life!

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    1. I do, too--even when I sometimes complain about it. :)

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  13. Great post - fellow A - Z and new follower.
    http://sallys-scribbles.blogspot.co.uk/

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  14. That is a great reminder! I have laundry calling out my name as I write this. :) But like you, I wouldn't change a thing. Well, it would be nice if I could hire a maid, but that is just wishful thinking!

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  15. Wonderful post, Dana! I have to agree :-) LindaK

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  16. Whenever I hear of some hurricane, tornado, tsunami, earthquake, fire, bomb, or other disaster ripping apart someone's Utopia, I am grateful for my mess even more.

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  17. Love your post! I miss that utopia! And at times you think gosh it just seems like I will never get caught up, then they grow up and things change. My baby(she will be 30 in July) is experiencing hers now, I told her when we were down there last month, "One of these days you will miss this, so even though at times it is overwhelming hang in there and remember every single minute of it because before you know it, it's just a memory...
    until next time... nel

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    1. You're so right! The kids are growing way too fast, and even though I feel overwhelmed at times--today, for example!--I never want to forget a moment. Thanks, Nel!

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  18. Absolutely! Utopia is in the eye of the beholder. Mine is a small apartment with my cat...and all my art, craft, reading, and writing supplies. I'm happy as a pig in mud! :)

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  19. Awww. That was such a sweet post! As crazy as my utopia is, I love it too.

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  20. Mine is my study - it might be cluttered and untidy (despite my occasional efforts to restore some order) but it's MY place, where I escape from the world into my writing.

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    1. Your study sounds wonderful! I would love to have a place like that to call my own. Maybe someday... :)

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  21. If we complain about it, it gets worse. If we ignore it, it gets even worse. If we embrace it, then it becomes something we cannot live without.

    Lucy

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  22. I guess we choose the things that make us happy. If I had my way, I'd be at home full time, writing up a storm.

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  23. As I've looked back on my life (geez-a-lou, I'm not done yet, though), I have to say that I've pretty much accomplished what I wanted to do.
    Good wife: check
    Fantastic kids: check
    Non-dysfunctional extended family: check
    Fun career: check
    Didn't die when I rolled my car in North Carolina: check
    There's a pill for that: check
    Yep. My life is a Utopia, too.

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  24. Thanks for the reminder. :)

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  25. Oh thanks for reminding me that I have to do all of this stuff tonight. Ugh. It's never ending.

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  26. Love this!! Can I just copy this for my own blog???

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    1. LOL You live the same life, huh? ;)

      Thanks!

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  27. Love. This. Post! It never ends, does it? A chore-free, distraction-free day to just read and write is my idea of utopia! :)

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  28. Now that's what I call looking at the bright side of things. Great post!

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  29. I loved your post - I 'm glad your days are just the way you want them. I am getting there - in the meantime, I am always (in my head mostly) whining about something or another. Even though I (OVERALL) like my work, I would like to not be working. Has there ever been a time when I was satisfied with my life? Yes, when I was in my late 20's I was very satisfied.

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    1. Thanks. There have been times in my life when I wasn't as satisfied as I am now. I think the last time I felt like my life was "perfect" was when I was in graduate school. I loved what I was doing and felt like I was really starting to discover who I was.

      Now, however, I feel like I'm where I want to be. :)

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  30. My ideal life is the same picture you painted with your post - lovely! And I'm lucky enough to be living it!

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  31. Ahhh! I Love this. Such a good reminder. You took the words right out of my mouth, so AMEN SISTER!!! :D (you have to say that with a fist punch in the air, to make it totally effective!)

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  32. Thanks for coming by my blog! I finally just emptied the dishwasher so I could put the dirty dishes in. :) I think having a family life would be lovely - I'm glad it's your utopia.

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  33. Thanks, Dana. I needed that. :)

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  34. Writing is my utopia. But, like you, I have household stuff and family stuff (which I love and is important), but writing seems to come last. Which is OK, I guess. Someday I'll be 80, with less to do, maybe I'll whip out my biography then. :-) If I can remember it. Dana, I must tell you, I've seen your comments on other blogs during the A-Z, and you are always kind and insightful. Not standard, pat answers. I've been impressed by that. So happy to have found you! Even so late in the game. I'm now a follower. :-)

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    1. Thank you for your very kind words. Welcome to the blog!

      Writing is last on the list for me as well. Sometimes I get frustrated about that, but I try to remind myself that my kids are only young once. I don't want to miss any of their growing-up years; they go by so fast. I can always write. :)

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