I've always liked all things Martha, despite the fact that her projects and recipes are usually a little complicated.  I have loads of her magazines (Living, Weddings, and Kids... even though they cancelled that one) and books.  I have made her roast turkey for several Thanksgivings and the turkey gravy recipe is delicious even though it includes making turkey stock with neck and giblets which I HATE.  I've made plenty of her projects including the log cabin, HUNDREDS of paper flower placecard holders for our wedding, and favors for all occasions - even those that don't call for any.

Martha's run in with the law didn't even deter me very much because I learned a very valuable lesson.  If I'm ever on my private plane discussing how my friend's business is doing, I definitely won't call my broker to sell the stock from my friend's company... no matter what.  I couldn't help but think "that's so very Martha" when she walked out of jail wearing a poncho crocheted by a fellow inmate.


But here's the thing, Martha is putting a lot of pressure on me.  I don't know what I've signed up for, but about once a week I get an email from Martha Omnimedia telling me about what I should be cooking that would take me no time at all.  I don't know if you've noticed, but the recipes I've posted over the past few months have been few and far between.  We've been living off of hastily cooked vegetables and deli meats for what seems like an eternity.  I haven't had much time to cook, and just haven't been inspired.  You'd think that getting this email from Martha would give me some ideas, but instead it just makes me feel like I'm slacking.

Maybe this feeling of pressure isn't actually from Martha but really the constant self-imposed pressure of a former overachiever, now feeling like I'm not doing enough.  If you've ever looked at Martha's calendar at the front of her magazines, you can see that she puts tasks like "reorganize hall closet" and "store summer clothes" on her calendar.  My hall closet still contains items that Marty's grandparents left in the house when we moved in and my summer clothes are still next to my nightstand from LAST SUMMER. 

I don't think I'm alone in feeling like this.  I've heard my friends tell me about all the things they wish they were doing, but don't seem to have time.  My cousin Jenine feels pressure when I send her an email that we're at the halfway point in this month's Box of Wine Book Club selection.  My friend Meghan hasn't updated her blog in a month, and a recent entry talked about her lapsing manicure (both SO unlike her).  And Sevda and I have fallen off the wagon on our excellent effort to send each other real letters (like in the mail kind of letters) each week.

I go back to the theory started a few paragraphs earlier.  I think that we're putting too much pressure on ourselves.  I'm reminded of a conversation my mom told me about that she had with one of her friends a few years ago.  Her friend asked her where she goes to think.  My mom answered, "What do you mean, I think wherever I am."  Her friend said, "No, where do you go to REALLY think?"  My mom replied, "When I'm in the kitchen, I think about what we're having for dinner.  When I'm outside, I'm thinking about going for a walk.  That's it."  I think we all should take a lesson from Janie and be a little easier on ourselves.  You don't have to put any pressure on yourself to DO or BE anything in particular, just DO and ENJOY your life while you are living it.  There's a reason all those people wear the WWJD bracelets - they're just reminding themselves to think about What Would Jane Do.