Jill Prouty

On motherhood, mental illness, and the importance of memory
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  • Tag: reading

    • What Makes Me Happy

      Posted at 9:04 pm by jillprouty7, on July 9, 2018

      After a glorious 4th of July week, I’ve been reflecting on what made me so happy about it. I’ve come up with my recipe for happiness –

      Time with family:

      I love doing things as a family. Sometimes it’s going to see a new movie together on a Sunday night when the theater is mostly empty. Sometimes it’s getting everyone in the pool on a sunny afternoon. I also love one-on-one time when I can really connect with people. This past Friday night my husband and I went, sans kids, to Line Creek Brewing Co. where we enjoyed drinks with friends. Saturday night my youngest son and I went to see Hairspray at The Legacy Theatre. It was a fantastic show, by the way. Go see it! Then Sunday night my oldest and I went to the Georgia Aquarium together and did the “Behind the Seas” tour. It’s Monday morning and I’m still giddy from the weekend!

      IMG_20180708_194629055
      Whale Shark in Ocean Voyager tank.

      Time outdoors:

      Even though the weather was somewhat sketchy this weekend, I was able to get lots of pool time in. Weather permitting, I spend time outdoors every day. Weekdays I often use my lunch hour to go for a walk or run. Getting outdoors for an hour mid-day recharges me for the afternoon. It also helps me clear my head. I’m looking forward to our biennial trip to Maine when we spend a week on a quiet lake and only go inside to sleep.

      Physical fitness:

      I love being physically fit. I invested in my health in 2014 when I started Weight Watchers and began attending classes at the gym on a regular basis. I love the feeling of accomplishment at the end of an hour long Spin class or a long run. Bad ass is what I call it. It makes me feel alive in a way nothing else can. Late Sunday morning my husband and I went on an four mile run. It was cloudy and there was a nice breeze. Because of the cooperative weather, we stretched it another half mile.

      IMG_20180505_095845795_HDR
      Tri-Cities 10K Race

      Creative time:

      Doing what I’m doing right now. Writing. Thinking. It feels good. I wish I could do it more.

      Learning:

      Listening to NPR in the car. Reading a good book. Attending a lecture or workshop. Decatur Book Festival is around the corner!

      What makes you happy?

      Posted in blog, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged family, happiness, learning, mental health, outdoors, outside, physical fitness, reading, self help
    • Life Saving Books

      Posted at 3:41 pm by jillprouty7, on June 23, 2018

      A friend sent me a link to an Opinion column in the New York Times from June 16, 2018 – What Kept Me From Killing Myself by novelist and Iraq War veteran, Kevin Powers. Powers, who in 2005 was suffering from depression and possible PTSD, found his will to live again in books. His life-affirming experience began with reading the words of poet Dylan Thomas. Powers writes of the experience:

      “For the first time in a long while I recognized myself in another, and somehow that simple tether allowed me to slowly pull myself away from one of the most terrifying beliefs common to the kind of ailment I’m describing: that one is utterly alone, uniquely so, and that this condition is permanent.”

      adult book daylight hand

      Photo by Min An on Pexels.com

      Books have meant a great deal to me as well. I don’t always plan it, but somehow the right book always seems to end up in my hands. As I type this, I can think of several books that saw me through challenging times in my life from Paula Danziger’s The Pistachio Prescription that I read as a pre-pubescent middle-schooler to Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone that I read as I began my post-college adult life. Then there was Marly Swick’s Evening News, a novel about a family torn apart after an accidental shooting. It was the last book I read before my mother took her own life. The book reminded me, amidst our own pain, that our family, too, would survive.

      What books have carried you through difficult times?

      Posted in blog, books, Uncategorized | 0 Comments | Tagged books, depression, ptsd, reading, suicide
    • Recent Posts

      • Nature vs Nurture
      • More Time, Memories
      • Get Out of Your Head
      • Blueberrying – A Family Tradition
      • What Makes Me Happy
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