Meg Evans

This week, I couldn’t summon enough energy for writing. The world feels as if it is rushing over a waterfall. Although many things are out of my control, I can choose to take enough time to rest. I am not obligated to push myself to do better, work harder, or impress anyone with my diligence. I can consciously decide to slow down enough to create a safe space in which to heal.

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 I won’t be doing anything for Halloween this year because my husband and I are traveling, Halloween does fall on a Thursday this year, so a greeting to suit the occasion seems right for today’s Nurturing Thursday post. Boo!

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 on Monday night from a long road trip to Boston, I haven’t felt quite settled in yet. It’s an odd feeling, almost like a dream—as if I need to be somewhere, but I’m not sure where it is. I’ve been reminding myself that I simply need to be all there, wherever it may be; and the rest can take care of itself.

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 October, I’m traveling often with my husband, rowing in regattas. It is a great way to keep in shape, but it can be tiring and can leave me feeling rushed. When I get those feelings of always being in too much of a hurry, I remind myself to just breathe and be in the moment, rather than overthinking the schedule. It’s really not as hard as I sometimes make it out to be.

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.”

It was still dark when I woke up this morning, but it was late enough that trying to go back to sleep wouldn’t have been productive, so I got up and started my workday earlier than usual. At first, I was a bit grumpy because my sleep hadn’t been as refreshing as I would have liked and because I had been rushing too much this week. A cup of coffee helped me to feel more awake, though, and the quiet house was peaceful. There really wasn’t anything to complain about, after 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.”

On Tuesday, my manager sent an email reminding my workgroup to do the employee survey because the last day to respond was Wednesday. She added this image to get people’s attention:

I replied that my first thought was that I might want to repost the image on my blog, and that I knew I was procrastinating because I was composing a blog entry in the back of my mind instead of doing the employee survey, but that I would make sure to do the survey.

Then I was going to compose this post yesterday and have it ready to go bright and early this morning; but of course, I procrastinated, and instead I’m sitting here at the desk writing it late in the day. I’m not really sure how many layers of procrastination that makes, but it’s definitely recursive. Oh, well… that’s 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 had another blog entry written out by hand on a notepad, which I meant to post a few days ago, but this has been a disruption-filled week, and I never did get around to typing and posting it. First, the old printer in the home office went bad. My husband ordered another one right away, but then he noticed that the router, which also was “long in tooth,” was having some issues too, and he replaced it.

Of course, that meant all kinds of things needed to have settings updated, and he has been working to get it all properly configured. I am glad he has the expertise to take care of our computers and devices, but this week I’ve had to remind myself not to worry about the small things. This too shall pass…

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 change of seasons in late September often feels too sudden to me. Even though the hot days still feel like summer, it gets dark so much earlier that I find myself wondering where the daylight went.

The moon is bright and full this evening, though. I heard an owl hooting when I was outside earlier, and I’ll take it as a timely reminder that there is always something to appreciate in the longer nights.

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 felt pretty good after Sunday’s marathon row. There were no blisters on my hands, I didn’t have to crawl out of the boat, and I had no aches or pains sitting in the car during the trip home. Although my hips felt a bit stiff the next morning when I bent down to unload the dishwasher, that went away after I’d been walking around for a little while. Overall, it was much better than I had expected.

So, when my husband mentioned that it was about time to get our flu and Covid vaccines, I thought it would be just fine taking a midday break from work and going to the pharmacy on Wednesday. That turned out to be overly optimistic. Fatigue hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks by the end of the workday. I felt way more exhausted than when I’d gotten vaccines in the past. Although I went to bed at a reasonable hour, my Garmin tracker informed me that my sleep was very poor and not restorative.

I’m feeling better now, getting ready to go to bed, and reminding myself that everything changes all the time and there’s no reason to worry about it.

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’ll be rowing a full marathon on Sunday in the double with my husband, on the Chicago River. We have rowed the half-marathon there before, but this will be our first time doing the full course. The thought of it doesn’t seem as daunting as it would have a few years ago. I’ve found that as we do more, we quietly adjust our expectations to match.

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.”