Meg Evans

It’s already Friday evening, but that is okay. The time change probably has something to do with my being more easily distracted than usual. I totally forgot I hadn’t posted my usual Thursday entry last night. Nothing to worry about, though; if I don’t get everything done precisely on schedule, the world is not going to come to an end. Anyway, it would do us all a lot of good to put items like “dive into random fun stuff” on our to-do lists. In that regard, here’s a cute word-art image that suits my mood today:

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.”

Winter isn’t quite over yet, but I am looking forward to getting out on the river soon, instead of sitting at home doing long exercises on the rowing machine. They’re good for me, of course, and the cold March rain and howling winds will soon be gone, so there’s no reason to let the weather get to me.

Modern sculling boats wouldn’t actually sink if they got full of water in a rainstorm, of course. They’re very buoyant, made of carbon fiber, and they just go slower if they get water in them. Last year my husband and I were rowing in a place that had a lot of powerboats, and one got too close and left our little boat so full of water that it was almost too weighed down to move. We had to pour out a water bottle and use it for bailing. That worked, though it was more adventure than we wanted!

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 training all winter on the rowing machine, my husband and I won the gold medal in the lightweight mixed double at the Sarasota Sprints masters regatta on Sunday. We’ve been rowing almost 10 years now; it was May 2013 when we took a Learn-to-Row class together.

We took up the sport because we wanted something that we could do together after several years of traveling to our daughter’s soccer games when she was in college. It took a lot of effort to build up our skills and fitness enough so that we could do well at the regattas, but it was worthwhile—not just for the competition, but more generally, to keep the world feeling fresh and exciting. We both believe it’s important to keep learning new things all through 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.”

I haven’t spent much time online this week because I’ve been on vacation in the South, enjoying the warm weather and sunshine. My husband and I have been rowing our double scull and riding bicycles. Yesterday was a bit too windy for us to row with any speed, but it was still fun to be outdoors in the warmth. Happy spring wishes to 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.”

Today was rainy and dark, with an occasional rumble of thunder. Not much to look at. When I stepped outside, though, I really liked the soft feeling of the humid air, starting to feel just a little more like spring. It was a good reminder that there is something to enjoy in every day.

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 replacing an old Keurig coffeemaker with the latest model, I went into the kitchen yesterday morning and found an “update successful” message on its screen. I took a picture of it just because the idea of a coffeemaker updating itself seemed interesting.

Of course, I’m showing my age here because the younger generation wouldn’t think anything of it. They’ve grown up with all kinds of devices getting frequent updates. I don’t mind, though—it keeps the mind healthy to have a sense of wonder, even with something as ordinary as a coffeemaker.

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 quiet day at home. When I sat down to write this post in the late evening, there didn’t seem to be much to say about it. I was just being in the world, not feeling as if I needed anything in particular. After a moment of reflection, I decided that was okay. There is no requirement to always be doing something productive, and real happiness can be found in those peaceful, unburdened moments.

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 I’ve been looking out the window at snowy, overcast days, mostly staying indoors except for a couple of errands on Tuesday afternoon. I am feeling a cheerful energy, though, almost like when we were kids and had a snow day. It’s actually just another workday for me, but I’m taking a break to write this post, and right now I don’t feel any time pressure. It’s all good.

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.”

Last month I put in an application for an open position in my company, and I’ve been going through the internal interview process. Because I have been with the same employer for many years, the application isn’t stressful, in and of itself. I am simply looking for new experiences and an opportunity to gain more skills; there’s no imminent risk of layoffs or other bad consequences if I stay in my current position. Also, if I don’t get offered this particular job, it’s likely that something else will come up.

It did bring some amount of old subconscious stress to the surface, though. Memories of searching for a job when I was young and took rejections more personally, as if doors were getting slammed in my face, came bubbling up from wherever they’d been lurking. I would’ve expected those old insecurities to be long gone by now, but they took me somewhat by surprise.

At the same time, I’m also feeling better in a way that’s hard to define—more solid, more grounded. Becoming more aware of those fears has gone a long way toward releasing them.

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.”

If someone had asked me 30 years ago what I expected my life would look like in 2023, I’m not sure how I might have pictured it. Whatever I imagined would’ve been very different, though. We didn’t have cell phones or the Internet back then, and I wouldn’t have expected to be working from a home office with my husband sharing the space. It also would never have occurred to me that we might develop an interest in competitive rowing and that we’d start traveling to regattas.

With everything in the world changing so quickly, I now try to avoid making assumptions about what should happen going forward. There are always good things to find in the here and now—and even though they may not be what we expected, they’re still worth celebrating.

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.”