Jane Jetson Aspirations

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It is the year 2022, and I aspire to be Jane Jetson 40 years in advance. I say 40 years in advance because The Jetsons portrayed society in the year 2062. My aspirations to be Jane Jetson most likely stem from laziness or exhaustion (not sure which), but I can tell you that my robot vacuum lacks the personality of Rosie Jetson and my wardrobe has far fewer digital options than Jane’s.

I can only imagine what it would be like to press a button and a fully fresh face and hair style would materialize. Forget the frustration of not having anything to wear, I could just step into my holographic closet apparatus and create my perfect look by swiping through the digital designs. My dishes would wash themselves, food prepare itself, and the laundry would wash, dry, and fold all on its own. It would be magical.

Maybe it’s her cool triangle-shaped collar, or her ability to juggle all the galactic challenges of being a woman of the future, but I know that I would love to put myself in her spacetastic shoes. Clearly, Jane is a woman who knows how to handle her bumbling husband, reign in her teenage daughter, keep her brilliant son from getting too big for his britches, and maintain a social life and philanthropic endeavors through her work with the Skypad Apartments’ recycling company and Galaxy Women Historical Society. Who wouldn’t want to be like Jane Jetson?

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It’s Okay if Things Go “Sploosh”

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Sometimes I find myself consumed with what-ifs. So consumed in fact, that my thoughts have no where to go but straight to panic mode. As I planned for a recent girls weekend, (one that my worry-logged nerves desperately needed) I asked Hubby to help me with getting a load of firewood. My gal pals and I were staying at a secluded cabin, complete with wood-burning fireplace, and the weatherforecast was calling for snow.

After some impressive chainsaw brandishing, Hubby and I had filled a tractor bucket full of logs. When I told my loving lumberjack that I would stack the logs on the flatbed to drive to the cabin, he told me not to worry. He would simply dump the wood right on the truck, and it would be ready to go. Immediately, my internal anxiety alarms started sounding in my head. He asked if I was okay with that plan. I told him all I could picture in my mind were the logs going “sploosh” as he put them on the truck or flying off as we drove down the highway. He firmly but lovingly put his hands on my shoulders and said, “It’s okay if things go ‘sploosh’ sometimes.”

With that statement my tears wanted to splash but, instead, I found a giggle for his use of “sploosh.”

I knew he was right and maybe, just maybe, if I could get over my fear of the potential “splooshes” in life, I could get past the nervousness that has been nagging at me so heavily lately.

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Links to Happiness

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I’ve never worked in a paper clip factory. I never thought about what it would be like to make paper clips all day long. I had not considered what it must be like to have a career solely based on those cartons of curved, organizational magic… that is until I opened my most recent box of paper clips.

Upon lifting the lid to a brand new box, I discovered a very long chain of clips connected to one another. Surely, this is not a normal product of the paper clip making process. Someone somewhere took the time to construct this impressive chain of fasteners. Perhaps their intent was to frustrate the recipient of the chain, or maybe its creation served to pass the time during an unfortunate shut-down at the plant, or it could be that the chain’s maker was just trying to make a connection with someone else in a unique way. Whatever the reason, I was now the intrigued owner of a very long paper clip chain.

When I showed my daughter, she said, “That’s cool, but now you can’t use those paper clips.”

“Why can’t I use them?” was my reply.

“Because then you wouldn’t have the chain anymore,” she stated and walked away.

I guess she was right. I needed a paper clip, not a chain of them, but there were Intentergy moments in those links.

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Breaking News: Plane Lands Safely

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In the last few weeks, I’ve had two friends going through a tough time with their kiddos and school. So tough, in fact, that both transferred to a different school. When my gal pal, Cindy, reached out to let me know of their decision, I shot a quick text to our friend Lisa letting her know we are here if she or her kiddos need us. Change is hard, but leaving one negative situation to face a new, overwhelming one can be a lot to take. I didn’t want them to feel like they were alone. After sending love, support, and humor in our texts, Lisa thanked me for reaching out to her. I told her to not spread the news of my goodness; I didn’t want people to think I had gone soft. She sent back, “Ha!! Good news doesn’t seem to travel as fast as bad news, so your secret’s probably safe for a little while. LOL”

It made me sad to think about the snail-mail pace of positive reports and a story that had come across the morning news reaffirming this depressing dispatch. Lisa’s situation and the CBS Morning News inspired me to put some Intentergy into broadcasting some cheerful correspondence.

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Monday’s Message – January 24, 2022

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4 weeks! We are already into the 4th week of 2022, and I don’t know about you, but it’s hasn’t felt like a very motivating start to the year. Christmas was good but felt disjointed with the Coronavirus still holding us hostage in our homes and dividing our communities. I continue to struggle with figuring out the balance of being a happy and healthy mom, wife, friend, and employee. I still haven’t been able to get out blog posts with any sort of regularity because my “monkey brain” has been on hyperdrive. I’ve noticed that I make more mistakes and have found lots of errors in my work from last year. While I know that no one is perfect, I can’t help but wonder if the extra oops aren’t a product of failing to put focus into my intents. It’s as if I am that proverbial headless chicken, and I just keep running, hoping my head will magically appear in the right place.

This notion of finding the right place inspired me to seek out people who are in tough jobs but who remain successfully inspired and motivated. In some upcoming guest posts, I’ve invited friends from different careers to share their secrets to staying sane and maintaining motivation in jobs that many could never contrive calling their own. If you have a job that most would consider tough to maintain motivation and would like to share ways you are winning in the battle of being positive at work, please contact me. I’d love to share your story! (So far guest posts are by a social worker, police officer, and teacher.)

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Reasons to Get Out of Bed

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The alarm clock ringing might be the #1 reason people give for getting out of bed, but it’s not that ring, ring, ring that really calls us to rise. My alarm clock is working fine, but I’ve been struggling with motivation to get moving in the morning.

It’s not just that it’s winter, and I want to hibernate, but that I really haven’t felt successful or inspired as of late.

I know I’m not alone, if you are feeling like there’s not enough good reasons to get going in the morning, check out my recent telephone conversation and how it helped with my dragging drive.

I called for tech support as I was working on the cataloging system for our elementary school library. We are relatively new to using this cataloging system, and this was not my first tech call. I had already spoken to Keith, the company representative, in the past. Keith is in Canada. I am in Central Missouri. When Keith takes my call, I always ask how things are in Canada, and he kindly tells me about the weather there. As we waited for the computer system to reboot my account, I asked Keith how many tech support calls he answers on average each day. He said, no one had ever asked him before, but, ironically, it was just discussed at a recent meeting. Keith said his average daily call count was 12.

Because I know that my past calls have all lasted between 30 minutes and 90 minutes, I thanked Keith for his time and his assistance. He laughed and told me that most people probably wouldn’t think of what he does as valuable. I pointed out that his service calls help me to provide library resources to over 130 students and faculty. While my school is a small one, I know he assists large colleges, universities, churches, and high schools; all with patrons in the thousands. I happily went on telling him that his 12 calls a day help thousands of people with their writing, reading, and research. He has a tremendous ripple effect on the success of all those patrons, and that’s a great reason to get out of bed every day.

Keith didn’t speak for a few moments. Actually, I was afraid he hung up on me or lost connection. When he did speak, the sincerity in his voice was so sweet. After saying, “Thank you,” Keith told me that it had never occurred to him to value his position in such a positive way. It made my day to know that I had brightened his.

After hanging up with Keith, my library software was working, and my mojo was much improved.

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2022 Bloggers BeLOnG – Upcoming Dates

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Bloggers BeLOnG will be BACK in 2022
thanks to the Missouri River Regional Library!

If you are looking for blogging discussions and support for your blog or are considering blogging, join us! Sessions are free and may be attended in-person or virtually. To register select the registration link for any of the upcoming sessions below.

Monday, January 10, 2022 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
at the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, Mo https://www.mrrl.org/index.php/event/bloggers-belong-10

Monday, February 7th, 2022 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
at the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, Mo
Monday, February 7th, 2022 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
at the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, Mo https://www.mrrl.org/index.php/event/bloggers-belong

Monday, March 7th, 2022 from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
at the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, Mo – https://www.mrrl.org/index.php/event/bloggers-belong-0

This will be our 3rd year of offering Bloggers BeLOnG, and I am grateful for all the terrific bloggers I’ve met along the way. I am also eager to see our community grow and hope you will join us!

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S.

2022 – Blogging for Beginners January Dates

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Starting a new blog is a terrific way to kick off the new year!

If you have considered starting a blog or are interested in knowing more about blogging, consider joining me for one of these free sessions sponsored by the Missouri River Regional Library. We will talk about organizing your ideas, finding inspiration, and resources for new bloggers.

Osage County Library in Linn, Mo

Wednesday, January 12, 2022
from 6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Click Here to Register: https://www.mrrl.org/event/blogging-beginners-melanie-peters-osage-branch

Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, Mo

Wednesday, January 26, 2022
from 6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.

Click Here to Register: https://www.mrrl.org/index.php/event/blogging-beginners

Be sure to bring any blogging ideas or questions!

By: Melanie A. Peters

P.S. We all have to start somewhere.

Monday’s Message – December 13, 2021

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Here we are mid-December and trying to keep up with all the Christmas crazy on top of our regular, daily chaos. Today I’m wearing my “Make it Simple but Significant” shirt to serve as a reminder that simpler can be better. We don’t always have to out-do ourselves or anyone else to make the most of our efforts and intentions. Keep the simplicity of love, kindness, and grace at the center of your holiday planning and going through the motions of moving your daily mountains, and you will find the most complex joy in bringing the basics to your battles.

2016 Random Acts of Kindness Club t-shirt is still one of my favorites!

For this week in Intentergy, I’m still finalizing my focus for Wise Words Wednesday, but Friday’s post is ready to go and one I’ve been drafting for a while. To wrap up the week, I’m sharing a story on the frustrations of gift shopping for a tween or teen and how to make those frustrating list-making interrogations into productive conversations.

I’m also excited to announce that the upcoming dates for January – March 2022 “Bloggers BeLOnG” and “Blogging for Beginners” will be posted this week! Yay! We will be hosting sessions at both the Missouri River Regional Library in Jefferson City, Mo and Osage County Library in Linn, Mo. I just love sharing my passion for blogging and hope you will join me for one of these free sessions if you are interested in being a blogger.

For now, I wish you nothing but success, positivity, and blessings this week.

By: Melanie A. Peters.

P.S. Remember keep it simple but significant.

Swamped in a Hive

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Have you ever tried to have a conversation with a parent who is inundated with the behaviors and requests of their children? It’s like trying to locate the queen bee in a hive of crazy. Nobody is concerned about or can comprehend what’s being said, focus is going in a million directions, and the constant buzz is enough to drive everyone in and outside of the hive crazy.

This past weekend I witnessed my friend, Jamie, at the heart of her own wild hive. We were hanging out at a friend’s shop, and for some unknown-to-our-children reason trying to have a conversation.

While Jamie balanced her son on one leg, her daughter traipsed passed walking her baby doll by the hair. Without warning, the baby doll leapt onto Jamie’s vacant leg and began marching up her arm and then rested on her head. Shortly there after, Jamie’s husband asked her about something he couldn’t remember, and she replied calmly with whatever he needed to know. Barely skipping a beat, Jamie continued on with our conversation. After finishing her sentence to me, she politely asked her daughter to take the doll to play somewhere else. Her daughter’s response, “But I need you to be my jungle gym.”

Well, there you had it.

Jamie was needed.

She was a comfy place to sit for her son, reference library for her husband, an apparatus for her daughter’s baby doll activities, and a hub of conversation for me.

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