Category: walking

Refuge

Is it Friday yet? This has been a long, stressful week already! Part of my stress is work: staying late, being asked to help people out with projects that, quite honestly, I feel they should have been able to handle on their own. But those projects are finished (for now), so I am taking a quick breather.

The rest of my stress is nothing new: the kids…or more accurately, worrying about the kids.

I wouldn’t worry so much about the kids if I could be reassured they were in good hands when they are not with us, but there is not enough self-deception in the world to make me even begin to believe that. I see so many outrageously horrible decisions being made. I see the kids in an unbelievably toxic environment with so-called adults behaving more like children than the kids do. And, as usual, I see no concern at all for any of it except from me and my husband.

My only comfort is knowing that my husband and I have always tried to teach and equip the kids to rise above the circumstances they have been forced into, and we’ve encouraged them to forge their own paths. All of them are old enough now that if they choose instead to march along right behind the walking personality disorder in their other home, then that is, sadly, now between them and the people who have refused to ever care about the kids and their well-being.

We will always be here for the kids. That will never change. Unfortunately, I don’t believe they will open their eyes until they desperately need sanity, stability, and reality, none of which can be provided by the mentally unstable individuals surrounding them now.

The worst thing I can do is neglect myself. That isn’t going to help anyone, least of all me. I need to take care of myself and be gentle with myself. I just finished a long walk during my lunch break, chatting away with my co-worker. It’s a start, right?

The other morning, when the alarm went off, my cat was tucked close to my side, purring loudly, and my husband had wrapped an arm tightly around me. I felt so safe, content, and peaceful. I was tempted to turn off the alarm and drift back to sleep, because I just didn’t want to get up and leave that cozy, soothing spot.

I am happy that I feel that way with my husband. No matter what is happening, I know he is my home base, my safe place, my refuge. I think an evening with my husband is just what the doctor ordered!

Spa Night

I finished a major project at work yesterday morning, so as a reward before diving into the next one, I took a short shopping break. I was definitely in a “I need break” mood, because I ended up picking up a deep conditioning hair mask, a face mask, and a new shampoo to try. (Can you tell I have very long hair?)

I walked with a co-worker during my lunch later that afternoon. Our building is huge, and the hallways are like long, wide roads, so we meet up to walk in the air-conditioning and even have some stairs to pump up our workout.

Later, I was glad we had walked, because I discovered a discrepancy in a report and had to tear files apart to fix it. It took a while, but I found it and fixed it, then closed everything down and finally headed home much later than usual.

Thankfully, my husband had already started dinner, and I walked through the front door to some darn good, tempting smells coming from the kitchen. He loves to cook, so who am I to stand in his way, right?

After dinner, I should have worked out. But every cell in my body loudly protested and stood their ground with resolved conviction. I figured, well, I walked earlier today, so why not have a spa evening?

I spread on a face mask, then fired up a hot, steamy shower, and cracked open the new shampoo, the deep conditioner, body scrub, you name it. I even lit a scented candle. I guess my husband was either curious what on earth I was doing, or drawn to the flickering, candle-lit bathroom, because soon I heard, “Do you have room for one more?”

Come back, it’s not about to get explicit in here, ha ha. It was just nice to melt away the day’s tension, unwind, feel his arms around me, laugh, and make plans for our next date night under the soothing steam. I am so happy I have him to come home to.

I still have a ton to do at work, but I am going to do my best to not work late tomorrow (date night). Oh, and for the record, the deep conditioner is great, and my hair is very soft and fluffy today 🙂 Maybe I will write a review about it!

Duty Calls

I have a confession to make: I did not work out last night.  Not one second.  I thought about it, if that counts for anything.  But I get so little free time anymore that I just wanted to hoard my evening with my husband and stepson, and I simply wasn’t willing to give up a second of it.

This morning I had to meet someone at the house, so I didn’t have to be at work until after lunchtime.  I decided to make up for the skipped workout last night, and I took my stepson’s dog for an extra-long walk.  We even jogged here and there, trying to burn off some of his energy!  We played with a large stick he discovered and instantly claimed.  When I picked it up and spun in a circle with it, he eagerly raced in circles with me.  Anything to tire him out!  He’s like a toddler on crack and energy drinks.

The weather was perfect this morning, chilly but not cold, with a crispness in the air that felt so good.  It would have been a perfect day to head to the trails and just get lost in the woods for a while.

Alas, work called, and I knew I had a meeting at my office coming up.  So the hyper dog, now panting and at least a bit less wound up, and I headed back home so I could get ready for work.

I met up with my husband for lunch before heading to work, which made it even harder to leave.   Lunch flew by, just chatting and having fun.  I didn’t want to leave.   My bad-influence husband tried to persuade me to play hooky and just escape back to the house with him, which was incredibly tempting, but I had to give him a few kisses and then head to the office.

So…I didn’t work out as promised last night, but it worked out pretty well for the dog today!

And now, duty calls, and I am wanted in a meeting.  Hope everyone is having a great day!

Two Pounds

I don’t think I have ever been more proud of losing two pounds in my entire life!  This past week was intense, and I had so much going on that I was getting home in just enough time to change into comfy pajamas and climb into bed.

I had worked out two days in a row, looked at my schedule for the rest of the week, and sighed. There was no way I could fit a workout into days packed that tight! Oh, well. I was disappointed to wreck my streak, but what could I do?

Then a strange thing happened. I wasn’t content to just leave it at that.  In the past, I would have just given up on working out at all.  But not this time.

No, I wouldn’t have time to hit the gym, or even do a workout DVD at home, but couldn’t I do at least a little something during my lunch break?

So that’s what I did. I walked during my lunch breaks for three days.  I figured even a short workout was better than nothing.

So the two pounds I lost this week were hard fought. I worked like hell for them. I looked at my obstacles from a different angle and found a new way around them. I am proud of myself and how I handled the hassles and constraints this past week.

Today is a much-needed day off, a nice break with my husband and my stepson. I thoroughly enjoyed lounging lazily and happily in bed this morning, my husband rubbing my back while we planned the day.  Tomorrow I will make sure to work out, then I will plan how to make next week a success too.

Our Trail Walk

Dog WalkBeing the clever, efficient person that I am, I decided to kill two birds with one stone last night.  I need exercise, and my stepson’s dog needs to go for walks, so why not combine the two?  A trip to the park to stroll the trails seemed like the logical thing to do.

As I was changing clothes and braiding my hair, my husband said he would go with me.  I was surprised.  He works outside in the heat all day, so I didn’t think he would want to go back out in it.  I was happy he was joining us.

We set off with our four-legged sidekick, who was mesmerized with every squirrel in a ten-mile radius, like he hasn’t seen a million squirrels in our own backyard.  We weren’t quite sure how he would react to other dogs or other people on the trail, but he did really well, curious but not aggressive, sniffing everything in sight so hard I thought his nostrils would turn inside out, but chugging along, wagging his tail, tongue happily hanging out.

My husband started teasing me that I was lying about the water fountain I swore was coming up, but I wasn’t making it up.  One of the reasons I love that trail is that there is a water fountain at the trail head, and another one about 1.5 miles into the trail.  We stopped there to fill up the dog’s water bottle (yes, we carried equipment and provisions strictly for the dog, like good little well-trained human servants).

By the time we reached the parking lot, we had covered 3.5 miles!  My goal had been 1.5, so it was way more than I had planned for the evening.  Mission certainly accomplished!

Later, in bed, my husband told me that he had fun on our walk.  I hope we do it again soon.  I liked sharing the trail with him, walking with him, laughing at the dog’s reactions to the world around him.

I got the week off to a good start and can’t blow it now.  My goal this week is to work out at least 20 minutes each day the rest of this week.

Another goal is to take time each day, even if it’s just five minutes, to do something just for me. I need it.  I am getting worn down, crushed by the take-take-take all day long: constant interruptions at work, questions, can you do this, I don’t know how to do that, adapting to rapid-fire changes at the blink of an eye.  Then I get home and have a never-ending to-do list there, too.

By the time I sat down last night (after our walk and after making sure the dog had a big bowl of water, making sure my cat knew I love him and am not cheating on him with the dog, cleaning up the kitchen after dinner since my husband cooked, assuring my stepson that his minor stuffy nose and barely perceptible cough are not fatal, setting up the dog with a blanket and a chew bone, and folding clothes from the dryer so I could toss in another load), it was well after 10 PM.

I finally sank down into the soft, blissful comfort of the sofa, and snuggled up with my husband, our little ritual in the evenings that we look forward to.  It was time to let the day’s stress melt away, relax, unwind…and even if there had been an earthquake, a flood, or another natural disaster, I absolutely was not getting up again until bedtime, dammit!

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