Inspirational Office Art

At our office, we have a secret santa gift exchange for the holidays.  My co-workers and I are mental health therapists who specifically work with survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.  The coworker that I chose this year requested to be given some inspirational quotes for her office for her clients and her to see.  In our field, as you may guess, days can become emotionally draining.  We hear about very tough things each day and the stories that are told are from the mouths of incredible people who have survived some very unthinkable circumstances.  Because of the intimacy of such topics, eye contact is not always an easy thing when a survivor is telling their stories.  It is for that reason that I (and some of my coworkers) place calming pictures and quotes on the wall... this gives clients something to look at (instead of feeling as though they are awkwardly staring into space) and sometimes, when it's hard to think about what they want to talk about, they are a wonderful ice breaker.

I made this subway art for my coworker's office from three of my favorite quotes.  The most favorite being the one from the Velveteen Rabbit.  It was a book of mine that has been read countless times throughout my childhood and adulthood alike.  As a teen counselor at leadership camp (are you surprised that that's the camp this nerd went to?? ha!) our staff nurse used to read this book to the campers.  I continue to give this book as a gift for those who have touched my life on my journey to "becoming real".

Enjoy! (There are 3 Pages and you can print them for FREE!).

Inspirational Subway Art

1.5 Day Cleaning Challenge

       The Stay-Cation Cleaning Challenge

I often wonder what life would be like for me if I had just a little bit less on my plate. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy my busy lifestyle filled with many blessings. The two jobs that I have chosen to take on are both in my career (one as a therapist the other as a college professor) and I wouldn’t give them up for the world. I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity, also, to continue with my education and I am FINALLY nearing the end of the path to becoming a PhD. Being a wife and a mother are the most fulfilling and the most challenging roles I’ve taken on and of course, those roles add to the portions on my plate. I think in all of this, I miss 2 things total: extra time with just my husband and a house that is as clean and organized as the house in which I grew up. Now, being the mom of 2 boys under 2, I am fully aware and have fully accepted that a spotless house that smells like flowers and fruits and pies is likely not going to always be a reality… in fact, for the most part, I don’t see it happening until my kiddos are all grown up and making a mess in their own homes… But, as we all understand, there are times when it is a necessity to have the June Cleaver home… and that time typically is determined by when we will have parties and guests.

Well, for me, that time has come. My older son is turning TWO on Saturday… we’re having an airplane themed birthday party for him and I couldn’t be more excited! I cannot believe how quickly two years have gone by but at the same time, I don’t remember life without him. But on that token, a couple months ago I saw this date creeping up on us knowing that between all of my responsibilities combined with all of my husband’s responsibilities (and him picking up slack from me being MIA taking care of school and work), I just knew that in order to not stress about cleaning the house and preparing for the party, it would probably be best to take off a couple days before hand. I never take off of work. Ever. So this was a big deal to me. I also, thankfully, had the forethought to take the Monday after off from work to clean up and unwind! Now, don’t get me wrong, I will be doing some work at home while I’m off (for my teaching gig) but all in all I plan on devoting a considerable amount of time to cleaning, organizing, purging, and making the house smell like flowers and fruits.

When I see the 20 day, 30 day, and year-long cleaning/organizing challenges, I often become jealous of the people who have it in them every day (or even have enough minutes in the day) to take on these challenges. My challenge (and it’s a challenge) is always to clean my kitchen and tidy the living room before I go to bed. That’s about the extent to which my body can handle at this point (haha). I want to be the mom who makes all the beds every day, curls or straightens her hair every day, puts make up on every day, and does each load of laundry as it accumulates and not after it explodes in my basement. I’m just not that mom. I have come to terms with that and for that reason, I have also come to terms with the fact that sometimes I just need days off to get our house back to square one. I am giving myself a 1.5 day challenge. Yep. 1.5. And being that I am typically an overachiever in the academic and career department, I am actually pretty confident that I will reach my goal. Thankfully, I have started with enough of a base (our house is a far cry from atrocious, by most people’s standards) that I won’t be starting from scratch. But I will keep a log of how long I plan to devote to each room and task.

If you’re busy like I am or just plain like that instant gratification and can’t wait 30 days to complete the challenges, maybe you can plan a “Clean-cation” like I did and take on this challenge. Flowers and Fruits, here we come!






1.5 Day Challenge Cleaning List