A dark, rainy, chilly morning had started to clear by midday, and I went out for a walk in the early afternoon. By then it was mostly sunny, and the wind felt much warmer. Every now and again I would stop and look at a bright spot of color where some crocuses or other spring flowers had come up.

I found myself thinking—what if I had gotten busy and not taken the time to get outdoors until next week? By then, that peaceful early-spring moment would have passed me by, and everything in the landscape would already have changed as the season moved on.

Word-art that says "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it!"

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

When I got my groceries at Kroger on Sunday, the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile was parked in front of the store. Seeing that goofy old icon of American culture gave me a smile, and I took a photo to send to my husband, who was at the gym. A few other people were taking pictures of it too.

Oscar Mayer wienermobile at Kroger.

Just out of curiosity, I looked at the company’s website to see how they had managed to keep people interested in the Wienermobile for so many years, when other promotions came and went. I discovered that it now has a tour schedule on Instagram and a phone app with a driving game, among other things. Quite a change from the little trinkets for children that I remember.

That’s the way it goes nowadays—in a world where so many things have been changing so quickly, we can’t reasonably expect much to stay constant. As a result, we need to cultivate the skill of letting go and moving on, both in business and as individuals.

While that may seem overwhelming, much of the time it’s not really as hard as it seems. We don’t have to transform ourselves into something completely different before we can fit into today’s busy world; it’s more a matter of keeping track of the details and updating them as needed.

In that regard, I found the Wienermobile a reassuring sight, in that it’s really much the same as always. Like all vehicles, the technology improves with every redesign, but the main difference is simply that the marketing has changed to keep pace with modern expectations. As often happens, when changes need to be made, they chiefly have to do with communication and finding more ways to relate.

When I noticed a bit of loose wood on a kitchen drawer, I asked my husband if he had some wood glue. He said there was some in the garage, and I should write a note to remind him to look for it. So I wrote a short note that said “wood glue for drawer” and put it on the kitchen counter.

This morning I came into the kitchen and found my son standing there with a bottle of wood glue. He said he’d seen my note and wanted to help out. So I showed him what drawer it was that needed to be repaired, and he took care of it right away.

Having people around who want to be helpful, even in small ways, is something to appreciate. Pets also—they can sense when a person needs comforting, and their joy in life always brings a smile.

Word-art that says "The little things? The little moments? They aren't little."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Although I’ve been reading blogs fairly regularly and buying books on my Kindle for the past few years, it occurred to me that I hadn’t visited my local library in quite a long time. The library wasn’t something I thought about much anymore, in part because it’s so easy to research all kinds of topics on the Internet nowadays, instead of making a trip to the library as people once had to do.

Of course, libraries now lend electronic materials, not just paper books and magazines; but in recent years I had been buying Kindle novels from indie authors to encourage their work. When I realized how long it had been since I’d checked out anything from the library, I went to its website to sign up for electronic borrowing. Then I found that my account was no longer in the system due to inactivity.

I went to my local branch library on Monday and got a new card issued, which didn’t take long. There was quite a difference between my plain old white plastic library card, which I put in the shredder when I got home, and the colorful updated card that came with a keychain mini-card.

Library card with mini-card for keychain.

That got me thinking about what wonderful places libraries were to me as a child. My parents took me to the library regularly as a very small child, and I got my own card as soon as I learned how to write my name. Bringing home new stories to read was always great fun, as was scribbling my own “books” while imagining myself as an author with other kids happily borrowing my stories from the library.

Growing up, I took for granted that visiting the library was something I would always do. I’m still not entirely sure how I could have gone without thinking about it for so long that my card expired. When I realized what I had done, I felt kind of embarrassed, as if I had been guilty of neglecting an old friend. But thankfully, the library is a forgiving friend and is always willing to take people back.

The Fitbit wars continued today, as my daughter started a new one-day challenge—after she worked out this morning, of course. Meanwhile, I hadn’t done much besides going to the supermarket on my lunch hour, and it was a windy day with rain blowing in.

Late in the afternoon, the sky got very dark, and there was even a tornado warning. Although I didn’t see anything other than a single flash of lightning, it definitely wasn’t the sort of afternoon to go outdoors for exercise. Not that it mattered because I generally work later on Thursdays, so I was still at my desk while the others in my family went to the gym.

The rain was over by the time I finished my work, though, and it was pleasantly warm outside, so I went for a walk. The sky had pretty much cleared by then, and the birds were singing happily. I ended up being glad that I’d gotten a little nudge to go out and enjoy it.

Word-art that says "We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I didn’t sleep well on Sunday night, perhaps because of the time change. Waking up at some dark hour, I tossed and turned for what seemed like a long time. Old fears, mainly about having no money and being powerless and pushed around, wandered out from dusty corners of my mind.

Then I fell halfway back to sleep, and it only got worse. Some kind of thick, heavy energy was sitting on my chest, directly above the solar plexus. When I tried to push it away, it solidified into an enormous boulder and squashed the middle of my body totally flat.

Boulder in a field on a cloudy day.

(Creative Commons image via flickr)

Despite my dream-body now being mostly separated into two pieces, I was somehow as much alive as ever, and I was angrily trying to shove that gigantic boulder away from me. Not surprisingly, it didn’t budge at all. I felt that nobody would help me with it because all the people who should have helped me in the past, but didn’t care enough to do much, were responsible for putting it there.

After a while I thought of someone who might want to make herself useful: Dame Shadow, an eccentric bodyguard of sorts who inhabits my subconscious as a self-appointed protector of the realm. When I last wrote about the Dame on this blog, she had given me a backache as a melodramatic way of prodding me to think about how much emotional weight I’d been carrying around.

I figured she owed me something after that annoying stunt, and I launched into an imaginary tirade. “Dame Shadow, I know you can hear me, and you’d better do something to get rid of this horrible boulder RIGHT NOW! You like to pretend you’re a superhero who can move mountains to save me, but where are you when I really need help?”

Another minute or so passed. Crickets chirped. Finally I heard light footsteps, and Dame Shadow walked around the boulder. She was dressed in a Wonder Woman outfit, complete with lasso.

“Okay, whatever,” I gave an exasperated sigh. “Just lasso this boulder already, and get it off me.”

The Dame replied, with an evil smirk, “Haven’t you learned yet that letting gravity work for you is much more efficient than brute force?”

She beckoned with her right hand, and several peasants promptly came forward and began digging along the downhill side of the boulder. They were dressed in muddy clothes and had bits of straw sticking to their boots. The shovels they were using looked (and smelled) as if they’d been mucking out the Dame’s stables very recently. Needless to say, the Dame had prudently positioned herself at a comfortable distance upwind.

Given the fact that my body had been effectively cut in half, I didn’t see myself as being in much of a position to complain. So I kept my dignity and pretended everything was fine while the peasants kept on digging. Eventually they undermined the boulder enough so that it rolled a short way down the hill. My midsection started inflating at a steady rate, as if by means of an air pump, until everything was back to normal.

Dame Shadow smiled again, this time with what looked like genuine friendliness. “You see, there are always plenty of sensible solutions to be found, but first you have to take the time to reflect on them.”

The house seemed very quiet today after a week of dog-sitting was over. A sunny morning had given way to another dark, cloudy winter sky by the afternoon, and it was well into the evening before my husband came home from work and the gym. I was sitting at the computer wondering what to post for Nurturing Thursday, but I didn’t have much energy and nothing insightful came to mind.

Then my husband came in and started chatting cheerfully about the international soccer game he watched on TV last night, after I went to bed. He didn’t get much sleep and had to drink plenty of coffee in the morning to wake himself up, but he was fine with that because the game was so exciting.

Just listening to his upbeat conversation left me feeling more cheerful and energetic, and reminded me once again that happiness doesn’t necessarily have to be gained through effort or insight. It’s mainly just about having a good outlook on life and enjoying the moment.

Word-art that says "Positive thinking evokes more energy, more initiative, more happiness."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

March 4, 2019 · 2 comments · Categories: Musings · Tags:

My husband and I finished ahead of our daughter in last week’s Fitbit step challenge. Although she craftily contrived to start with a day’s lead, as I mentioned here, I was able to get ahead of her on Friday because that was her travel day, while my husband and I were the dog-walkers. I couldn’t quite manage to catch up to our son-in-law, though, mainly because he was sneaky enough not to sync his Fitbit all day, so I didn’t know how far ahead he was. Of course, my husband totally crushed the rest of us because he is the most disciplined about regular workouts, so I came in third.

The weather has been wintery here, so we’ve been walking the dogs in the snow while their owners enjoy a warm, sunny Florida vacation. I have to confess to a bit of jealousy; but going for a walk is healthy even in the snow, and—as the dogs evidently know—there’s always plenty of time to laze around on the couch.

Two dogs looking comfy on the couch with blankets and pillows.

More doggie lessons about being happy in the moment—life is good with regular walks and a comfy couch!