Scrapping posts and editing

Two full weeks have passed since I last posted.  In those two weeks I have started and scrapped content, but not posted.  

I wrote a bit on the first of October.  This month starts to bring the calendars from charities.  They come from charities I've donated to in the past and from charities that want me to donate this year.  I love wall calendars, and date books, and planners.  They also send address labels, most of which I shred.  I so rarely send snail mail any more.  I don't even bother to keep the "purse sized" date books any more, as my phone takes care of that need.

Then I wrote a bit on the Monday that marked Thanksgiving in many countries around the world, including Canada, so hope it was a Happy Thanksgiving for those who celebrated.  

Over on Facebook I started posting my gratitude of the day.  I was finding it heavy lifting, even though there is much good going on in my personal life.  The news on so many fronts and for so many people has been a huge downer, and I find myself considering how much personal privilege is reflected in what I am grateful for.

The brick masons came back and power-washed their work.  I wrote them a big check and they went on their merry way to the next project.

On Monday the 9th, I got my latest greatest updated Covid-19 version.  They didn't have the Moderna one, so I accepted the Pfizer one.

Funny thing about the Covid shots... I develop amnesia about the side effects / reaction, every blasted time.  And this one had a kick to it, mostly hitting overnight and all day on Tuesday.

Wednesday brought a reprieve from those side effects.  I noted that Facebook pushed a 14 year old memory photo at me:  the day I put my son on an airplane and did not see him again until the following August.  A whole lot "went down" in the intervening months.  The passage of time does not make it all whole, and every time the world goes crazy, those not so great memories are stirred up.  The tendency to withdraw from life comes with that stirring, but one cannot let it win. 

My kid sis made it over for our walk, Wednesday afternoon.  We had not walked for a couple of weeks because she had been ill.  So she became the first to look over the brickwork and pronounce it good, in person.  An online friend or two did a check in because I hadn't blogged in a while.  Wednesday night I got a call from my son, and we talked through a lot of the stuff.  

Then Thursday, I was sick again!  "Did I overdo on Wednesday?", I asked myself.  "Is it the weather front coming through, and the allergies?"  "This can't be side effects still!"  Regardless, I tried to take care of myself with OTC medications, hydration and watching carefully what I consumed, going for "mild".  Thursday and Friday were pretty well spent hiding in sleep, days and nights.

Saturday the 14th, I was still not up to much, and didn't get up until about 1 p.m.  At this point, I wanted to avoid the news as much as possible, and realized it was Ironman World Championship day in Kailua, Kona, Hawaii.  This year only for the women, as they have split the race into independent competitions for the women and the men, splitting both the date and the location.  The men raced in Nice, France, in September.

So I joined the online streaming coverage well into the bike ride for the professional women.  I rooted on my favorite, who went on to win, and savored the commentary by the stars of years past.  When Lucy Charles-Barclay of the UK was crowned World Champion I rejoiced.  I think I have followed every year she raced Kona, from the year she was an age-group World Champion through four second place finishes as a pro, to this year.  She's earned her place in triathlon history!

During all of this I've managed to do a few things that needed doing, like laundry and vacuuming, and making sure The Prisoner got the door opened and closed for him, as well as fed.  He tried to comfort me, being a lap cat to purr my worries away.  He's such a good kitty, and he's been with me for all but the first few weeks of his life.

Anyway, now it's Sunday, and I am up and cooking breakfast.  Life does have its ups and downs.  And sometimes there is great sorrow and tragedy in the world.  But still I have to cling to the tag-line:

Life is good.  Treat yourself gently.  And Spark on!  Grieve as you need to, but let yourself carry on, too.