Meg Evans

Last weekend my house felt like it had gotten totally overrun with dogs. My daughter, who has two dogs, came to visit while she was dog-sitting for a third. They were all very well-behaved the entire time, so I can’t complain; but the house did feel kind of crowded.

We played a game of Monopoly while sitting on the floor and managed to avoid having our little plastic houses, etc., knocked off by playful dogs wandering onto the board. Then I thought about how fortunate we are to have such a close family—pets and all.

For Nurturing Thursday, here’s a dog picture for all my awesome readers.

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 make a point of surrounding myself with cheerful images, particularly in my house, because I believe that the things we regularly encounter in our environment go a long way toward creating who we are. Even though we may not be fully aware of what is going on around us from one day to another, the subconscious mind notes the smallest of changes and looks for new ways to put those perceptions together, updating the stories it tells about life in the world.

When my husband bought me a digital art display as a Christmas present in 2015, I thought he understood me very well and was being especially kind and thoughtful. Recently he said that he hadn’t entirely understood my beliefs in that regard, but just thought it was an interesting gadget that I would probably like. Still, it was a much appreciated gift; and it goes to show that kind acts often have unexpected ripples. In keeping with the water metaphor, I’m displaying a bright, colorful image of boats in a canal today.

Wishing my readers many cheerful sights and ripples of kindness 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.

I’m still wearing the Fitbit Alta that I got in April; it’s helpful for reminding me to get up from my desk chair more often, drink plenty of water, and get enough sleep. There is one thing it doesn’t do, though; I often row on the river, and the Fitbit is not programmed to identify rowing motions, so it doesn’t include that when it counts time spent exercising. It recognizes other activities such as walking, running, and bicycling.

That left me wondering if I should turn off the icon on the Fitbit phone app that counts days of exercise, so as not to be annoyed by it. After giving that some thought, however, I decided that walking more would be a healthy, nurturing thing to do, whether or not I row. Now that the warm summer days are here and getting outside for a walk feels refreshing, it’s another way to take better care of myself.

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.

My husband and I have been getting out on the river a lot and enjoying the pleasant weather, which is why I haven’t done much blogging recently. The wildlife is always fun to watch. When we rowed our double yesterday, there was a goose standing on the bank watching us, next to a pair of ducks. I couldn’t take a picture because I never bring my phone in the boat, just to be sure I won’t drop it in the river; so, that’s why my post today is not called Duck, Duck, Goose.

It’s a beautiful Thursday morning here, and a fascinating world all around to explore. Wherever you may be off to, let your day be full of adventures!

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.

A coworker who enjoys sending upbeat word-art to perk up our team attached this cute cat picture to an email recently, and my first thought was that it would be just right for a Nurturing Thursday post:

When I started writing this entry, though, I wasn’t sure how to relate it to anything I had done this week. My workdays had been pretty quiet, and it didn’t seem like I had given away much kindness or that anything in particular had come back—at least, not that I could think of. Mainly, I’d been trying to get more sleep and to give virtual hugs to my insecure younger self whenever random memories of old mistakes came to mind.

Then I realized that kindness to oneself is central to Nurturing Thursday, so it was just right after all!

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 weather is warming up, my daughter decided it was time to teach the Labradoodle puppy how to swim. Not so much how to swim, since that’s mainly instinctive, but the survival skill of how to get out of a concrete swimming pool by walking up the steps. He is almost a year old and looks full grown, but he still acts young and is nervous around water. She put him in the shallow water across from the steps, walked around to the steps, and called him while holding out a treat.

He didn’t quite get the concept, though. He was so afraid of the pool that he just stood up on his hind legs, put his paws on the side, and stood there looking like he desperately wanted someone to rescue him. After a while, he did manage to find his way onto the bottom step, but he didn’t seem to understand that he could walk up and out of the pool; so he’ll have to try again another time.

Often it’s like that with many things in life. We feel stuck in a situation that we don’t know how to get out of, we keep trying the same approach that didn’t work—and after a while, we figure out how to walk away.

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.

The past week was busy and fun; I got outdoors a lot and enjoyed the warm weather, which finally seems to have made up its mind that it wants to be spring rather than winter. But earlier today, when I was wondering what to write for a Nurturing Thursday post, nothing popped into my thoughts. I felt frustrated, and I asked myself: Had my creativity wandered off somewhere to play, too?

Then I realized it was just silly to worry about such things. It seems to be part of our culture that even when life is going well, sometimes we catch ourselves feeling—just as a matter of habit—like we ought to push ourselves to do more. But of course, happiness doesn’t really depend on how much we get done or how many people like what we do; it’s mainly about being comfortable with ourselves.

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’ve been a bit distracted from blogging lately, but that is okay because it doesn’t take much time to put together a Nurturing Thursday post. There are many ways to connect with people nowadays, and what’s key is just finding a little time to bring more cheer into the world, however we go about it.

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.

After visiting for a few days, my daughter drove back to her home in Cleveland this afternoon, with her dogs. Although the drive takes a few hours, that doesn’t bother her at all. She often comes to visit; and even when she’s busy working and can’t be here in person, she keeps in touch by calling and texting.

My husband pointed out that we set a good example when she was in school and we always drove to her soccer games. Because of that, she considers it perfectly normal to take road trips and spend a lot of time visiting with family. Although it felt hectic for us at the time, always having to carefully plan our vacation time around the soccer schedule, it definitely turned out for the best.

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.

Just in time for warm and sunny weather, I have a new Fitbit, which I haven’t worn before. After what seemed like a very long winter, I definitely feel like I need to get outdoors and start moving around more. Though I’m not planning to obsess about counting my steps, a device that reminds the wearer to get up from the desk and go walk around is at least somewhat useful.

And it’s a lovely day here, just right for opening the windows to let in the spring breeze and freshen up the house, and then going out for a walk and enjoying that rarely seen and mysterious object known as the sun. Wishing my readers a wonderful Thursday 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.