I'm expanding the ways I use this space, so that it's not just our homeschooling adventures, but also the rest of our domestic concerns.  Possibly further than that.  I'll see what happens as we go.

A few weeks ago, I had what may have been the worst anxiety episode I've ever had (it was mixed in with awful GERD, and hyperventilation, and so it's hard to pin it down with a single, simple description).

The doctor (after telling me my heart's in perfect shape, and that I have a long life ahead of me) told me to give up caffeine and take a daily walk (in addition to any other exercise I'm doing).  I'm not giving up caffeine all the way, at this time.  I'm cutting out all the cold caffeine (cola and iced tea), which is about 75% of my usual intake.  Hot tea and dark chocolate have so many health benefits (and are so delightful) that it more than outweighs the drawbacks of the caffeine.  I'm also taking the opportunity to make a bunch of other changes.

I'm taking a three-pronged approach -- increasing relaxation, increasing joy, and combining the GTD approach and cognitive behavioral techniques to decrease stress by tackling as many as I can of the things that've been stressing me out. 

This week I'm focusing on my morning routine (because there are many little changes I can make there which will set the tone for my day), our 4 pm check-in phone call (when Joe and I check in with each other about how our days have gone and which household tasks we've gotten done), eating dinner at the dining room table (because I think that'll make the whole rest of the evening go much more smoothly), and our bedtime routine.

For the morning routine, I'm increasing relaxation by adding a little tai chi to my other morning contemplative practices, I'm decreasing stress by moving my morning email and facebook checking to later in the day (and replacing it with some pleasant reading), and I'm increasing joy by shifting my cup of sweet black tea to the morning, changing to a savory breakfast (black beans, avocado, tomatoes, and rice or a homemade tortilla, or leftovers from last night's dinner), and working towards finding time to sit out in the yard while I sip my tea (I won't drink the whole thing out there, because I don't want to start my day with a big cup of sugar water without any food to balance it).  So now the morning will look like:  breathwork, tai chi, chanting and making tea and a little time in the sunlight, read something pleasant, cuddle Sarah awake, breakfast, sweeps (tidying up), process email to zero, exercise.  Then we play school.

As for the bedtime routine, we're working toward turning most lights out at 10, doing sweeps (putting things back where they go), putting the oatmeal in the crockpot for the next day, brushing teeth, and listening to a book on tape.  Eventually we're hoping to dim the lights an hour before bedtime, and to fit in a relaxation technique of some kind into the bedtime routine. 

There are a lot of changes still ahead of me, but right now I'm happy focusing on these first steps.