Just go with the flow

Our blog project group has once again changed by one member, but I'm still calling it Blog Project 3.0. The newest member is Darwin Shrugged, a friend of Froggie's. I recently got to know her better through "52 Stories" and I look forward to what she has to say on the upcoming topics.

This week Froggie chose the topic: Ebb and Flow

First, read what everyone else had to share on this topic:
Darwin Shrugged
Froggie
Moma Rock

I've heard the term "ebb and flow" many times, but never gave much thought to what it meant. In order to do this post, I looked it up and found two different and interesting meanings. The first is from Urban Dictionary and basically says "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor," which is one of my mottos. I wrote more in depth about it a long time ago and will share that post here, as I don't feel the need to repeat myself.

The other definition is from The Free Dictionary and it basically talks about increasing and decreasing and compares it to tides. I've decided to make a list of things that "ebb and flow" in honor of this definition.

1. My weight. It only moves up and down within a small window of variation at this point. One of my friends says she doesn't even have a scale and I admire her restraint over checking her weight. I am actually good about checking it only once a week vs. every day. Otherwise I'd drive myself crazy.

2. This weather. One day it's 10 degrees and I'm bundling up in a coat and scarf. The next day is 50 degrees and I've abandoned any need for a jacket. Then it goes back to freezing and snowing. MAKE UP YOUR MIND, Mother Nature!

3. My motivation. Sometimes I completely lack motivation and just want to sit on the couch mindlessly watching TV. Other times, I get my act together and write a short fiction story and put together my blog posts for the week over at my book blog. The same goes for work. I work best with deadlines and projects that seem more challenging. Then when it comes to tedious work, I drag my heels.

4. Some of my favorite TV shows, as they'll have a really good episode bordered by some duds. This happens with How I Met Your Mother and Glee a lot. There are also times when all my favorite shows will have new episodes in a given week and times when they're all repeats and I have nothing to watch.

5. The laundry. It mostly happens when I can't get it under control and let a huge pile of clean clothes sit for a while, building up in size while other clean clothes are already folded in baskets, waiting to be put away. Sometimes the laundry waiting to be washed will be overwhelming and other times I'll be searching for enough clothes to wash just for it to make sense to do another load.

6. The dishes in our sinks. There are times when the sinks are overflowing and other times when they're completely empty. My husband is mainly in charge of dishes (because I'm mainly in charge of laundry) and he knows how to keep the momentum going.

7. My book collection, given that I either loan books out or give them away and then accumulate more.

8. Shabbat meal invitations. Sometimes we go weeks without getting invited out for a meal. We'll sometimes host a meal during that time, but going back to the motivation issue, there are weeks when I just don't want to cook or entertain. Other times, I love having people over and will bring out my favorite dessert items and kugels. Then there will be several invitations in one week.

What is an example of "ebb and flow" in your life?