blogging, first world problems, fun, GenX, inspiration, mental health, midlife, pandemic, Slice of Life

Fresh start

by Writer of Words, etc

I woke up this morning intent on finishing part iii of my Derailment series (part i, and part ii) and decided…nah.

I’m sick to death of that topic.

Doesn’t mean I won’t finish it at all; I just need a break. It’s about writing and the challenges I faced during my climb out of the abyss in getting words out of my head and onto a screen. I love writing about writing…even if my actual writing is nothing but drivel. 😉

But that post can wait.

Instead I flipped a switch in my brain to get out of this funk. Seeing sun in the sky on the horizon helps. Several other things attributed to this change in mental focus as well:

The daffodils on my table (in the photo) are so fresh and happy looking, there must be a chemical reaction going on inside my head that steers me back on track…

I saved them from suffocation and perish, you know. The daffodils. The abandoned house next door, which is likely going to be condemned when (if?) its occupants ever return (they’re in China), has a gorgeous but neglected flower garden which the previous owner lovingly tended to for three decades. The new owners moved in two(ish) years ago and never once stepped foot into the garden. It’s completely overgrown and wild. Broken tree branches and giant weeds suffocate all the spring flowers trying to find a spot to emerge out of so I went over, scissors in hand, and snipped some.

The Chinese neighbours left us a key to keep an eye on the house. They also offered my son some cash to mow the lawn in the summer, which he did last year. Beyond that, no work has been done on the house or in the garden.

Watching the garden suffer is painful for me which is why I have a vase full of brightly coloured poached daffodils on my table.

Be forewarned: the tulips will be next. 😎

Another reason attributed to my emergence out of my funk is my boot camp lady.

I used to go to boot camp class every Wednesday morning for an hour. Tanya set up the gym in a brightly lit church basement and all the other moms and I did a circuit of several core and strength exercises while young children played with a giant pile of lego on a nearby mat.

Since the lock-down began in March this activity has of course ceased.

My intentions to keep up with some home-based exercises went out the window when the weather returned to winter and prevailed TO THIS DAY WHAT IS GOING ON but then yesterday…a text arrived.

It was from Tanya.

She filmed herself demonstrating a few exercises which required nothing but the floor, a wall and a heavy piece of furniture like a bed or couch to lean against. The exercises were easy to follow and intended to strengthen the core.

I thought it was a lovely gesture.

I watched the videos with interest while popping chocolate eggs into my mouth. 😂

(In my defense I was not the only one. Someone else was munching on a burrito. 😛)

Anyway, that was yesterday. Today is a chocolate-free day (go away) and day 1 of a home-based exercise routine. I may not make the 12 repetitions but I gotta re-start somewhere.

And. When it finally warms up, my bike and skipping rope are coming out of the garage. 😊

Anyway that’s the plan.

In the meanwhile…happy weekend. It is the weekend, isn’t it?

23 thoughts on “Fresh start”

  5. Though it’s too early to truly garden, every year we plant trees. We have sufficient acreage that we were impacted by the scourge of the emerald ash borers, so we decided to take it as an opportunity to diversify the forest. Nothing revives agency in the era of climate change as tree planting. One never thinks about social distancing while digging and giving new homes to trees. In just a few weeks, gardening will offer the same respite. I’m sore from digging, and yet that ache is real, and wonderful and tangible. We’re behind you in the daffodil department–but in a week or two, that same relentless optimism–yellow as if the personification of sunshine–will grace our table, too.

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    1. I wish we had the space for tree planting…I completely understand how ache from gardening and manual labour is appreciated. I always sleep best after spending a day outside working, physically working, on things like gardens and house maintenance. 🙂

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  6. I love the daffodils! As for exercise, sigh, I hear you. I am having such a hard time getting into any sort of schedule. Before work, after work, inside with video, outside walking or running – nothing is sticking except my weight. Sigh. So I empathize on the exercise front. It’s tough.

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    Reply

      1. The seeds contain all kinds of things wild animals need, and the plants themselves need an entire solar system worth of sun to make those seeds, so they are, in my opinion, one of the toughest plants to grow to maturity.

        Liked by 1 person

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