Meg Evans

My day was somewhat out of the usual routine, with an out-of-town errand in the morning and a short task during my afternoon break. Nothing too unusual about that; but after a hard rowing workout on the river, it had gotten dark by the time we left the boathouse, and I’d had no unscheduled time whatsoever to just chill out and relax during the day.

I reminded myself that there is only the present moment—so, if I want more time to rest, I already have as much of it right now as I’ll ever have.

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 New Zealand flight carrying our daughter and her dog is boarding now. It will arrive on Saturday morning there, which is Friday afternoon here. The time difference will take some getting used to, I’m sure. She has a job interview scheduled for Tuesday, and I expect she’ll do well despite such an exhausting trip.

I’ve been in the same job and house for many years, and I can’t see myself jumping into the unknown like that. Still, there’s a part of me that enjoys setting out on new adventures, like when I travel with my husband to a rowing regatta in a city where I’ve never been. One never knows when a new path might appear.

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.”

When I rowed on Tuesday afternoon with my husband, it was another hot and humid day, and we got chased off the water by thunder after just one short lap. Still, it was a good day. I felt more confident rowing my single in the wind, and we didn’t get rained on while washing the boats and putting them away.

By the next morning, the temperature was much cooler; it looks as if the heat wave may finally have broken. More good days to come!

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’m writing this post on a Friday morning after a week that felt hectic. Thursday turned into a long day, and there didn’t seem to be much sense in pushing myself to write a blog post late in the evening when I hadn’t gotten to it earlier, so I decided to let it wait.

Everything was good, but I had more errands and distractions than usual this week, and by Wednesday afternoon I felt tired and cranky. Having to hurry down to the river by midafternoon to do a long, exhausting rowing exercise in the heat, so that my husband and I could join a Zoom at 5:30 for the rowing club’s board meeting, left me grumbling to myself as I got into the boat.

After doing the exercise, getting my heart rate up, and flushing out those bad-mood chemicals, I felt much better. As we came back to the dock, my husband said how glad he was to have a wife who enjoyed getting out and rowing with him regularly. I replied that it’s good for both of us. On days when I get too focused on the “weeds” of everyday life, he reminds me of the magic.

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.”

This week my husband has been working a bit later than usual, but I haven’t minded waiting to go out because the evenings are pleasantly cool. Today we saw a night heron standing on the edge of the dock as we came in. It didn’t seem at all disturbed by the boat and only moved after we got out.

A large groundhog has done a lot of digging around the boathouse. Last week, one of our club members filled in some of the holes and neatly smoothed out the dirt. I expected the groundhog would just dig them all again, since that’s what they do; but although two holes came back quickly, another filled-in area was left undisturbed. My husband and I saw the groundhog when we drove into the parking lot. She looked confused, as if she had been about to run to her burrow, but she wasn’t quite sure where to find it anymore. Then she found another entrance and vanished from sight.

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’m posting this entry on Friday afternoon because I forgot to write a Nurturing Thursday post yesterday. Rather than letting negative self-talk occupy any space inside my head, I’m just allowing it to pass as something that happens, making a point of being nice to myself.

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.”

During the RowFest national regatta last week, which was held on Lake Ford in Michigan, I raced my single on Friday afternoon. I’m always somewhat nervous about it because most of my rowing has been in the double, which is larger and steadier. The single is a narrow little boat that can be hard to control in the wind.

Last Thursday had such high winds that many races were canceled. I rowed the double with my husband, but it was still windy and choppy enough that we couldn’t get much speed. That gave me some anxiety about going out in the single the next day. Better conditions were predicted, but Thursday’s wind had been worse than the forecast, so I couldn’t be sure how things might turn out. I told myself to stop worrying about it.

As it happened, Friday afternoon had little wind and the best conditions of the regatta. I felt all right about racing the single, although I didn’t win a medal in that race. I stayed even with one of my competitors all the way down the course, but she put on more speed at the end and finished ahead of me. That didn’t bother me too much, however. My husband told me later that she’d said, after the race, that she and her husband had been trying to beat us for a long time and saw us as their benchmark. That left me feeling happier!

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.”

Following up on Tuesday’s post about being prepared for weather, here’s an inspiring thought from Rumi about morning sunlight breaking through dark storms. Happy Thursday!

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.”

Although the long days of summer are often hot, I enjoy getting outdoors for quiet evening rows with my husband. Yesterday we had the river to ourselves for a pleasant sunset row. There was very little wind, and the water flowed gently through a peaceful landscape. Only the rhythm of our oars and the song of the bullfrogs broke the silence.

It’s not really a wilderness, of course—just a short stretch of river passing through an urban park, with highway bridges and their traffic noise at both ends of the course. Even so, we often see beavers, herons, bald eagles, and other wildlife that leave us feeling refreshed by the natural world.

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 spent some time outdoors with friends today, in a cheerful group talking and laughing. This image seemed to suit the mood—I hope you enjoy it and are having a wonderful evening, too!

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.”