In Which There Is a Chicken In My Bathroom

I have started my Pinterest fast.

I am hooked on Pinterest, and it does not make me happy. I know I spend too much time just browsing, seeing what's new, instead of using it as the tool I originally intended. It's a bad habit, and it wastes time, but I didn't realize it was actively making me unhappy until I watched this video from a couple who took the entire month off internet. The woman commented that it was making her unhappy to see all the terrible things people did to each other, and that really resonated with me. I do feel unhappy after I spend time on Pinterest. So it had to go.

I realized that every time I check my email, or do other necessary things online, I finish up with a quick browse on Pinterest. For a half hour or more (that's not actually quick!). And since I didn't have a book I was interested in, I'm browsing Pinterest while I eat, or in the evenings when my husband is reading before bed. I know it's a terrible habit, and I will have to break it. I just need to develop a new habit to replace my old one. And I need to stop by the library for a new book. (In the meantime I'm reading Your Money or Your Life again. I even heard that a new edition is in production!)

And I think I was more aware of my family. I want to be more involved, since I have so little time before my kids move out, to college and after.

And as for the chicken: last night, when my son went out to put the chickens away, he found one poor hen just sitting in a puddle in the rain, soaked and miserable. Since our coop is unheated (Southern California!), he brought her in, in a cat carrier, and left her in the bathroom with a space heater all night. This morning she was looking dry and perky, but still sleepy, so she remains in the bathroom. I'm saying this because I'm going for realism. My life if weird, and not perfect. But our chicken is recovering, and my kids are happy that she's recovering. And if life's not exactly simple, at least I'm paying (better) attention to the important parts. Or at least, that's what I tell myself.