Patricia L. Atchison

YA Fiction & Non Fiction Author

Patricia Atchison

Traveling Your Bucket List – Step by Step

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I had the pleasure of writing the following article for the newsletter, Heart and Mind Matters, by Best U Can B.

I recently came back from an overseas vacation to England and Scotland, where my family attended a cousins wedding. Traveling to the United Kingdom (UK) had been on my bucket list for a number of years.

The question became one of ‘could we ever afford it’? I think because of the distance, the idea of traveling there seemed impossible. Have you ever put constraints on a bucket list item?  Why do we put obstacles in the way of some of the wish lists we have?

Usually, the first thing we do is associate an activity with a monetary value. Then we put a timing issue on it. Life gets in the way and we never find the time to bring our wish to realization. Ah the excuses go on and on and on…

My dream vacation was to visit London, Scotland and parts in between. First Hubby said, “It’s so expensive!”, then came the, “Well, you know you need at least six weeks to visit. There’s so much to see in only a couple of weeks”, then “How can I take that much time off work.” It seems the negatives never ended. I tried to be hopeful though. I really, eventually wanted to go over ‘there’.

To read the rest of the article, (issue date Tue 28/06/2016), please visit: Heart and Mind Matters – Traveling Your Bucket List by Patricia L. Atchison

An Hour in the Morning in the Day of the Life of a Multitasking Wife…

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I admit I take multitasking to many levels – it’s great, but can be quite time consuming. I achieve a lot, but I also lose track of time in my day when I find multitasking moments coming on.

An example is this morning. While I packed up a couple of clothing items for our upcoming camping trip,  I grabbed a pair of old shorts for my husband and saw that another new pair he had bought had not been washed yet. I figured he might want to wear them this weekend. Checking the laundry bin, I knew I had enough dirty clothes for a small load. I decided I should also throw in the clothes I was wearing too, so I changed top and capris and grabbed hubby’s new shorts and threw everything into the washing machine and started it.

I needed to put some facial cotton pads into my bag, and went looking in the bathroom cupboard for a pack I knew I had stored there. I discovered a new refill bottle of hand washing foam (which I forgot about). It’s funny, as just the other day I thought about going to pick up another one to refill all of our bathroom hand wash dispensers (we have them in 4 bathrooms and one at the kitchen sink). I figured while I had a moment I should fill up at least the upstairs dispensers – seeing as I found it (and didn’t want to forget about it again). I filled them up, but made a mess and spilt a bunch, so grabbed a cleaning rag and mopped up. I didn’t want to waste the soap on the rag, so why not clean the toilet. I reached for the bathroom cleaner and proceeded to do just that. We have another washroom upstairs, so I cleaned that toilet too.

I now have two full foaming hand wash containers and clean toilets. I gathered some used towels, the rag, and put them into the laundry room for another load, but not before I washed my hands in both washrooms (just have to test out the dispensers) and used another rag to dry the sinks and counters, making everything sparkly and fresh.

Our bag is packed for camping (just waiting on the new shorts), including the cotton pads I originally went in search of. My toilets and a couple of sinks are nice and clean. I have a change of clothes on, a load of laundry on the spin cycle, one in the basket waiting, and this story almost finished.

Unfortunately, I have a cup of tea (that I’ve reheated twice this morning) gone cold once again, but it still tastes good!

Not bad for an hour in the morning in the day of the life of a multitasking nut!

Defined by: ‘What do you DO?’

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It doesn’t matter where you go or who you meet, in a group setting or individually, it seems once a person states their name in an introduction, they are then asked, “What do you do?”.

It is easy for some. They can simply state they are a: doctor, teacher, nurse, salesperson, stay-at-home-Mom, lawyer, cashier, dentist, librarian, electrician, plumber, CEO, etc. You get the idea.

The other option is: I work for/at, I work part-time/full-time, I am a student, I am retired, I am an artist, or I work out of the home.
When first meeting others, a person is defined by, ‘What do you DO?’. Seldom, unless a person is in an interview setting are they asked, “Who are you?”.

For me the ‘Do’ question makes me shudder. I ‘DO’ lots. I am not in any single career or ‘work-related space’ that defines me. I write, I sculpt (doll & teddy bears), I teach Nia Dance Movement/Fitness, I design websites, and I am a bookkeeper for our home based business, not to mention some other things I may explore as time goes on.

How can I say all that in a two or three word reply that people come to expect? Except to say basically, I am a multitask-er who loves to delve into many passions. I guess in a good way, this would open up dialogue I could expand on during a meet and greet.

Many entrepreneurs suggest that unless a person has a single passion, they can’t be successful because they end up scattered in too many directions. This is true. A person can’t divide their time equally among all interests. For me though, I don’t like to fit into a bubble defined by society. It is boring always being stuck in one frame of activity. It seems when I am doing one thing, my mind is conjuring up something else – an interest, something new to learn – something always comes along to veer me in a different direction. It always has, and I presume, always will. Unless I eventually end up finding that single thing that I’d like to “DO” that would define me in other’s eyes? Until then, I DO many things, all of which define me as the person I am today.

Unfortunately when you ask me what I ‘do’, you may have to sit down and have a cup of tea, as my answer may take a while.

Are you Listening to Your Body?

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I was watching a video from the Tamalpa Institute & the Life/Art Process featuring Daria Halprin. She asked the following question:

“If your Body could speak… What would it say to you?” ~ Daria Halprin

I’d like to think if my body could speak to me, she would say the following:

~ Thank you for listening to me… (finally!)

~ Thank you for respecting me.

~ Thank you for providing me with a safe environment to flourish.

~ Thank you for keeping me clean and well-groomed.

~ Thank you for giving me the rest and relaxation I deserve.

~ Thank you for warmth when needed and perfect clothing for the environment.

~ Thank you for letting me feast on nutritious foods and drink.

~ Thank you for the unlimited supply of daily water.

~ Thank you for exercising my joints, bones, muscles, ligaments and tendons.

~ Thank you for hydrating and pampering my skin.

~ Thank you for the touch of self, loved ones and strangers (hugs are good!)

~ Thank you for the gift of sensual pleasure.

~ Thank you for monitoring my health and taking care of issues that arise.

~ Thank you for being my friend.

~ Thank you for loving me.

~ Thank you for allowing Spirit to soar beside with me.

~ Thank you for your Mind communication.

~ Thank you for sharing your Emotions with me.

~ Thank you for letting me dance through life!

Coming Soon – A Brand New Me

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Welcome to Patricia L Atchison, a creative site for my writing, blogging, dance arts and creative arts. I am in the process of doing all things magical to ensure this site is working well. I’ll let you know as soon as I am alive again. (Well, I am alive, well and living, just my site isn’t – live!)