Meg Evans

The window installers will be here next week, and I haven’t yet finished cutting back some overgrown bushes under my living room windows, which are definitely in the way. They went so long without being pruned that it became a daunting chore. I’ll get it done, though, rather than letting the sight of it intimidate me any longer—and the view will be much improved.

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 traveling again this week, giving myself time and space to let worries fall away. Although my job isn’t stressful, I find that too much time in a routine, without a change of views, has a tendency to narrow the mind’s focus and cause impatience. Trying to change everything is not realistic, but often a simple change of scenery, with touches of love and kindness, can make for a healthier perspective.

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 my workday, I watched a video about creating prompts for artificial intelligence. I wore headphones so as not to disturb my husband, who shares the home office with me. The video had some amusing moments, and at one point I laughed out loud. My husband looked over and smiled.

Later in the day, I noticed that my Garmin tracker showed two long restful periods while I was working. I mentioned that to my husband because it was unusual. He said that watching a good presentation must have left me feeling more relaxed than usual. The first restful period was indeed the time when I watched the video, so he was right about that. I hadn’t realized it made so much difference!

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 went for a good easy row yesterday afternoon before grilling hamburgers at the rowing club’s annual picnic. The boathouse is located close to downtown Dayton, so we have a great view of the City of Dayton fireworks, which were on July 3rd this year. Volunteers had put down fresh gravel between the boathouse and the dock just last month, which made a good surface to put down our sports chairs and watch the show. Fun for 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.”

This morning, I got stressed because I felt that I had been unfairly criticized. After having some time to reflect on what happened, I decided it would be useful to give myself a friendly reminder not to get overly upset by other people’s reactions, which often aren’t really about me at all.

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 traveling on a road trip with my husband, leaving Wednesday evening, so I’ve scheduled this post in advance. I like the quote, and although (being honest) there isn’t much chance I’ll wake at dawn, it should be good enough to schedule the post for dawn, anyway.

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 next-door neighbor has been putting down mulch this week, and she offered to give me whatever was left over from the pile in her driveway. That might have been a roundabout comment on the less-than-perfect condition of my front yard. Although I took good care of the roses behind the house this year, and they look great, I can’t say the same of the neglected shrubs in front.

I spent some time cutting them back this evening, however, and they’re starting to look better—not perfect, but that is okay. It’s just what happens in real life.

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.”

Instead of writing this post early in the day, I went out to get my hair done and left it for later. When I came home, I just sat down at my desk and got back to my work. Then I started chatting with my husband, and we went down to the river to do our rowing workout. By the time we got back to the house, it was past sunset, and I still had to take a shower and cook dinner, so this post didn’t get written until the end of the day.

When I thought about what to write, leaving things for later seemed like just the right topic!

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.”

In addition to posting Nurturing Thursday entries on this blog, which I’ve done for the past 10 years, I now send weekly emails to my coworkers (with different Nurturing Thursday messages, though they are similar) to bring more peace and self-nurturing into the workplace after the pandemic. My workgroup had a tradition of motivational emails long before that, but those messages ended when the various contributors retired or changed jobs.

I’m taking vacation this afternoon and tomorrow, and I was just finishing up my work at 1 PM when I realized that I hadn’t sent a Nurturing Thursday email. I quickly composed and sent one, feeling relieved that it was still early enough in the day that my coworkers wouldn’t notice I almost forgot. Then I started thinking, what difference would it make anyway? We all forget things, or come close to forgetting, and the world still keeps on spinning regardless. No worries!

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 afternoon, with my husband away traveling until tomorrow, I felt unsettled in my quiet house. It was okay, though. I reminded myself that emotions come and go. I went down to the basement to do a rowing machine workout, which left me feeling better afterward.

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.”