Meg Evans

I’m leaving again this morning for a last road trip in the South with my husband before winter sets in. We’ll be rowing in Chattanooga this weekend, then visiting my mom in Spartanburg, then going on to Augusta for another rowing regatta. Although it seems like we do a lot of traveling and competition, our horizons are broader now, and we are becoming comfortable with doing much more than we imagined years ago. Today we were looking at flight schedules for visiting our daughter in New Zealand in late January. The more we do, the more we’re able to picture ourselves doing.

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 enjoy rowing with my husband in the late afternoon, especially when we can enjoy unseasonably warm days in late autumn, like we’ve had this week. Now that he has a fully remote job, he can get out and row earlier than when he worked in an office. That means we both have work to do when we get home, though, and if he gets very involved with something (which happens often, in his work as a software developer), our dinner can end up being much later than I would prefer.

Rather than complaining about that, I generally remind myself that it’s a good thing he is so industrious and focused. Because he is always working on improving his skills, he can do many useful non-work things, such as setting up and maintaining a virtual private server for this blog. Not only was that a nice thing to do for me, it also gave him significant PHP experience, so that he was the hero of the moment when last week’s widely reported PHP vulnerability forced his company to upgrade its outdated code in a hurry. So, even on days when I have to remind him that it’s getting very late, I try to make a habit of doing it with gratitude.

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.”

With sunny and warm afternoons all week, it almost has me feeling like the season is reluctant to change. Although cold nights and crisp mornings make it obvious that we are far past summer, the higher temperatures later in the day are deceptive. I noticed one tiny violet blooming in the grass this afternoon, just as if it were springtime. More leaves are falling every day, of course, as nature’s reminder that everything must change, even though it might not always come easily.

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 finished my workweek early this afternoon and am taking a long vacation until Monday the 19th, with a trip to Tennessee this weekend and then back out again to Boston. I particularly like road trips in October, seeing the colorful autumn leaves along the highways. Wishing bright and wonderful adventures to everyone!

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.”

Looking through a second-story window in a quiet moment today, I saw that several taller trees were turning a lovely autumn red, although the change of seasons hadn’t been as noticeable from ground level when I was busy doing ordinary tasks. I probably would have noticed them if I’d spent a few minutes sitting quietly outside and paying attention to my surroundings. There’s a lesson for me in that.

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.”

After coming home from Chattanooga, which was hot and humid on Saturday, the change of seasons felt very sudden. Rain blew into Ohio, bringing a chilly week overcast with heavy, dark clouds. I have to admit I wasn’t excited to see summer disappear so quickly. But this afternoon, when my husband and I went outdoors, the sky cleared just as suddenly, changing to the crisp brightness of autumn.

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.”

My husband and I rowed our double in the Chicago River half-marathon early Sunday morning. The course goes through downtown Chicago and turns around where the river opens out to Lake Michigan. For us, it’s just a sightseeing row, as there are many faster crews.

We’re traveling again this weekend for the Tennessee Gorge row in Chattanooga, which is another long sunrise row. I have to admit it’s not always easy to keep up with my husband’s Energizer Bunny level of activity, but it’s good for me anyway, even when it takes a little time to recover.

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 has been a week of afternoon storms rolling through, which has made things feel rushed because there isn’t as much time after work to row on the river when sunset is getting earlier. Checking the weather forecast isn’t very useful because scattered storms could be anywhere.

Today we hurried out even though we had more work to do later, trying to get out when the weather was best. The river was calm, the air was fresh, and although it was overcast and there were a few sprinkles here and there, I didn’t mind because they felt cool and refreshing. After rowing for a while, I had almost forgotten those hectic workday feelings; they drifted away like the fallen leaves in the current.

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’ve had a pretty mellow week so far. My new laptop is functioning properly now, last week’s heap of work has been sorted, the overtime for it will be in my pay tomorrow, and the long weekend is almost here.

I didn’t even mind doing my rowing workouts in the broiling sun this week because that’s better than thunderstorms and having to stay indoors. Turtles were soaking up the sunshine on logs beside the river, enjoying the last days of summer. They had the right idea!

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’ve had a rather stressful week because several people in my workgroup, including me, have been issued new laptops with some sort of configuration problem that hasn’t yet been solved. So, I am still working on my old computer, with frequent distractions while discussing the new machine’s issues with tech support. Meanwhile, other people have been temporarily reassigned to another project, another coworker is out for a long weekend, and heaps of work are piling up.

But, on the bright side, there is overtime pay, and I had a lovely sunset row with my husband this evening in our new singles, so I’m feeling pretty cheerful right now.

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.”