The motivation for hot days is to get out early for anything active. Like moving hoses to wet down the lawn before the sun hits it.
Anybody else "old enough" to remember these sprinkler hoses?
Would you believe our local weather topped the century mark (100 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time since 2018, yesterday? We got to 102. Today they are predicting 104! So, here I was, 6:30 a.m. this morning, putting the hose in place, setting a timer for 20 minutes, heading back out and moving it. I'm going to be doing this until the sun moves around the trees and starts hitting the yard.
Why, some of you may ask, since I live in the suburbs, do I not have one of those automatic sprinkler systems? That's a bit of a story, but kind of boring. There is such a system... but it doesn't work. I broke it myself, many years ago, and didn't have the budget to fix it. I was trying to use a cord edger, going to spruce up the joint... and sliced through a control wire for the sprinklers! Since I am capable of setting and moving hoses, and since I am a "good citizen" when they tell us not to water... it just never got up to the top of my priority list! Over the years, more and more neglect has been deployed on it, disconnecting the water supply to it when the furnace was installed, for example. And, of course, it completely demoralized my wanting to try to spruce up the yard!
Don't we all have things of this nature? We put them on a "nice, but not now" list. How many of us have done this with self-care? Uh... not sure I can count all those hands! Have we let one level of neglect pile upon another?
Failing to maintain ourselves, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually leaves us functioning not at our peak, barely limping through life, giving all of ourselves to others... until, like that control wire... one more thing snaps us! After the snap, layers of additional neglect lead us into a deteriorated condition.
So, let that be our reminder to ourselves, as we face the heat of Summer, and the busy-ness of lives... to be of most use to our "mission" we have to first maintain ourselves! There are several elements of this, and we have to keep them all in balance:
- Accept that good nutrition supports us in all these ways, including supporting our immune systems.
- Engage in activity to encourage functional strength and endurance.
- Don't forget that sufficient and high-quality sleep or rest if a huge part of maintaining the human body.
- Stretch the mind and soul, look beyond ourselves, and appreciate things that inspire us.
- Express gratitude, so we don't forget how blessed we truly are!
- Remember to laugh, cry, shout... for having emotions is part of the human experience, and it's OK to have them, happy, sad or inbetween!
- And important for all, but especially the introverted among us: Take time to breathe (don't over-schedule, we all have a current capacity).
If you can't do it all (and who can?), take it in small bits. Do ONE thing to feel better today.
From my 'fridge, placed there during a time of struggle.
Life *is* GOOD, now let's go live it, in this one and only Thursday, June 17th, 2021 we'll ever get. We are worth it!💗😍🙋👍
