Meg Evans

I recently decided to see an orthodontist about my lower front teeth, which used to be fairly straight, but have gotten a bit crooked over the years. Although they are not that bad, I feel as if I ought to get them taken care of, anyway—if only to persuade my anxious younger selves that I do, in fact, make a regular practice of taking good care of myself.

More generally, this year I’ve been feeling, intuitively, that I need tangible reminders that most things in life are fixable. When old worries pop up, as they do from time to time, I tell myself that there is no need for concern; but I haven’t always been able to make myself feel the truth of it. So, when I came across this useful bit of advice, it seemed like a good fit for a Nurturing Thursday post.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I haven’t spent much time visiting and commenting on blogs recently, although I plan to do more over the winter. I’ve been traveling to regattas on the weekends with my husband and the rowing club, which is fun but hasn’t left me with as much time or energy for online activities as usual.

Not surprisingly, I haven’t gotten as many comments as usual, either. That’s just the natural way of things—when we spend more time interacting with others, they’re more likely to think about doing the same with us. And more generally, whenever we put energy into the world, it’s likely to find its way back.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Although it’s a dark, rainy morning where I live, the weather hasn’t affected my mood. I woke up to a little trickle of dim light coming through the bedroom shades, but feeling like things were going pretty well anyway. Wishing a great day to my readers too!

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Last weekend I was a bit disappointed with myself because I didn’t row as well in my single race as I would have liked. It was scheduled soon after my husband and I finished our double race, and I didn’t have quite enough energy left for the single. My time was better than last year, but although I tried to put on more speed as I got near the finish line, it was not good enough to earn a medal.

Of course, there are many people who wouldn’t have the endurance to row two 5K races in the same day. Some won’t race a single at all because it takes more effort than rowing in a team boat. So, I shouldn’t have been disappointed. Just to try is pretty good in itself, and there will be other chances to do better.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

I was watering my houseplants just now, and I started thinking about how much better the world would be if we all took care of ourselves just as regularly. Sometimes when we get busy and neglect ourselves, we don’t have enough awareness and concern regarding our own needs to know that we need more self-nurturing. Maybe we have some idea of how our friends feel, and how our plants look, but we lose track of ourselves. If we put a little more effort into making friends with ourselves, then we wouldn’t end up feeling “wilted” and wondering why we have so little energy left for others.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

This time of year, it often feels as if the pace of life has speeded up and, sometimes, that there is just too much going on. In the modern world, we do indeed have a lot of assorted obligations and distractions, which can make it hard to keep track of all the details.

What’s good about it, though, is that we also have a lot of choices. We don’t have to stay in one place doing the same things forever. Instead, we can pick and choose among the many possibilities that are open to us, keeping the ones we most enjoy and letting the others go.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Now that the fall season has started for rowing races, my husband and I have been going to regattas on the weekends. On Saturday we rowed in Toledo’s regatta on the Maumee River. It was a lovely day with calm water and excellent weather.

We’ve been there several times, and by now that river is starting to feel comfortable and familiar. It’s very different from just a few years ago, when the race course seemed like a big, scary, dangerous place. When we made the decision to start traveling to regattas as novice rowers, sometimes it felt overwhelming. But as time went by, it naturally got easier.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

What’s been on my mind this week is how to avoid stagnation while, at the same time, not getting burdened with too many projects and obligations. And what I keep circling back to is that I need to live authentically and be open to new experiences; all the rest will mostly take care of itself.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Earlier this week I had some old worries pop up. Apparently they needed to work themselves out from wherever they’d gotten lodged in my subconscious.

When I woke up today, I felt much better. It always helps to let those anxieties go, rather than holding onto them and being weighted down forever.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.

Today I started feeling tired by midafternoon, which wasn’t surprising because I got less sleep than usual as a result of enjoying last night’s moonlight row with my husband, which I wrote about in my previous post.

I made a point of being kind to myself, enjoying my afternoon tea, and not pushing too hard to get everything done. After all, there will always be to-dos in our busy modern lives, but that doesn’t mean they need to leave us frazzled or displace the little things that make us happy.

Nurturing Thursday was started by Becca Givens and seeks to “give this planet a much needed shot of fun, support and positive energy.” Visit her site to find more Nurturing Thursday posts and a list of frequent contributors.