Tuesday evening, although still hot after I finished an outdoor workout with my husband, felt lovely and peaceful anyway. Wednesday morning wasn’t the most comfortable because the heat wave is still going on, and we woke up to find that the air conditioner wasn’t working. We already had planned to leave early in the afternoon for a road trip, however, and we have a service appointment scheduled for when we return.

I’m still anticipating a fun, magical trip with no worries!

Word-art that says, "In the midst of our lives, we must find the magic that makes our souls soar."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

The clock on my computer went past midnight just now, so this post will have to be published with a Friday date because I didn’t get around to doing it earlier. For a moment, I thought about cheating—that is, setting the date stamp for this entry to Thursday so my readers wouldn’t notice it was a delayed post. But then I decided that was silly. After all, it’s not like anyone expects me to be perfect.

Word-art that says, "No one is perfect... that's why pencils have erasers."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

I dreamed about a litter of rambunctious puppies running all around, getting into places they shouldn’t be. Former President Biden was trying to corral them, but he wasn’t having much success.

Puppies in dreams generally have to do with animal energy, new things, and playfulness. But what did President Biden represent? Traditional politics and its limits? Older people trying to keep up with the demands of a changing world? Just another authority figure getting yapped at?

I decided to ask Fannie, my imaginary 119-year-old future self. I found her sitting on the “Be Kind” park bench in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, which I mentioned in a blog post in 2022.

Photo of a park bench with BE KIND painted on it.

At her feet, Maxie the robot poodle realistically appeared to be dozing, with closed eyes and a tail that twitched a little. When I came closer, Maxie opened an eye but did not otherwise move. I sat down next to Fannie and told her about my dream.

“It’s a big job, trying to corral the future,” Fannie said sympathetically. “Politicians try, but they don’t get very far. We also put time and effort, as individuals, into sorting out what we think might happen. But mostly, the future just does whatever it feels like doing. That’s the way of things. We may get farther than we expect, though, if we can simply be kind and invite the future to spend a little time playing with us.”

My husband had a good laugh at my expense when we were rowing in our double this evening. We were just about to start a set of two 1K rows when I saw a hairy spider on the side of the boat, next to my leg. Rather than touch it, I tried to flick it off using a hand towel. That didn’t work because it jumped on the towel, and then I got startled and clumsily dropped the towel in the river. Then my husband came to my aid and gallantly squashed the spider, which was still clinging to the wet towel.

He was still laughing about it when we got home, but I suppose that’s all right. Better than complaining, anyway—and we could all use a few more giggles.

Word-art that says, "Complain less. Giggle more."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”

The June rowing plan that I’m doing with my husband, created by our online coaches, has different exercises than those we had gotten comfortable doing in past workouts. They have more sets of intervals, and the focus is on building power at lower rates and improving form. The sudden change left me tired earlier in the week, but not so much today. That’s how growth happens…

Word-art that says, "A comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there."

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to encourage self-nurturing and to “give the planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.”