Meg Evans

Now that the weather is warming up, my daughter decided it was time to teach the Labradoodle puppy how to swim. Not so much how to swim, since that’s mainly instinctive, but the survival skill of how to get out of a concrete swimming pool by walking up the steps. He is almost a year old and looks full grown, but he still acts young and is nervous around water. She put him in the shallow water across from the steps, walked around to the steps, and called him while holding out a treat.

He didn’t quite get the concept, though. He was so afraid of the pool that he just stood up on his hind legs, put his paws on the side, and stood there looking like he desperately wanted someone to rescue him. After a while, he did manage to find his way onto the bottom step, but he didn’t seem to understand that he could walk up and out of the pool; so he’ll have to try again another time.

Often it’s like that with many things in life. We feel stuck in a situation that we don’t know how to get out of, we keep trying the same approach that didn’t work—and after a while, we figure out how to walk away.

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.

The past week was busy and fun; I got outdoors a lot and enjoyed the warm weather, which finally seems to have made up its mind that it wants to be spring rather than winter. But earlier today, when I was wondering what to write for a Nurturing Thursday post, nothing popped into my thoughts. I felt frustrated, and I asked myself: Had my creativity wandered off somewhere to play, too?

Then I realized it was just silly to worry about such things. It seems to be part of our culture that even when life is going well, sometimes we catch ourselves feeling—just as a matter of habit—like we ought to push ourselves to do more. But of course, happiness doesn’t really depend on how much we get done or how many people like what we do; it’s mainly about being comfortable with ourselves.

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’ve been a bit distracted from blogging lately, but that is okay because it doesn’t take much time to put together a Nurturing Thursday post. There are many ways to connect with people nowadays, and what’s key is just finding a little time to bring more cheer into the world, however we go about 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.

After visiting for a few days, my daughter drove back to her home in Cleveland this afternoon, with her dogs. Although the drive takes a few hours, that doesn’t bother her at all. She often comes to visit; and even when she’s busy working and can’t be here in person, she keeps in touch by calling and texting.

My husband pointed out that we set a good example when she was in school and we always drove to her soccer games. Because of that, she considers it perfectly normal to take road trips and spend a lot of time visiting with family. Although it felt hectic for us at the time, always having to carefully plan our vacation time around the soccer schedule, it definitely turned out for the best.

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.

Just in time for warm and sunny weather, I have a new Fitbit, which I haven’t worn before. After what seemed like a very long winter, I definitely feel like I need to get outdoors and start moving around more. Though I’m not planning to obsess about counting my steps, a device that reminds the wearer to get up from the desk and go walk around is at least somewhat useful.

And it’s a lovely day here, just right for opening the windows to let in the spring breeze and freshen up the house, and then going out for a walk and enjoying that rarely seen and mysterious object known as the sun. Wishing my readers a wonderful Thursday too!

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 haven’t been much inclined to blog because I caught a nasty cold. For my Nurturing Thursday post, though, I want to mention that my husband has been very considerate and nurturing while I’ve been sick. Yesterday he bought groceries and cooked dinner, both of which are usually my chores. So I’d say that he deserves recognition for brightening up my blah week with a bit of kindness glitter!

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.

Today was another dark, rainy early spring day after what seemed like too many of them already. To be honest, when I woke up this morning, all I wanted to do was crawl back in bed and hibernate till summer. That wasn’t an option, however, so I sat at my desk drinking coffee because I felt like I needed to keep myself warm and awake, even though the indoor temperature hadn’t changed.

Then I got a sudden impulse to go outside and walk in the rain around midday, for no apparent reason. It was so strong that I had already put on my coat and stepped outside before I started to wonder what the heck I was doing. The rain came down steadily as I walked across the grass, and my coat and shoes soon got very wet; but the birds were chirping enthusiastically, and the world felt full of life. Nothing had really changed—but all at once it felt very different.

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.

Spring rowing season is getting started, although it was too cold for anyone to get out on the river today. This year we can’t row as far as usual because of bridge construction, which also impacted our course last year; one bridge recently got finished, and now another project is underway.

That’s all right, though, because we can still get as much exercise by doing more laps on a shorter course. And although the distance does not come out exactly the same, going a bit farther won’t take much longer. That’s often true of many things in life!

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.