What a difference a week makes. Last Saturday I was curled up in my bed gripped in the clutches of a nasty stomach virus. I lost a few days to illness and came out of it to find myself panicked about the boys' falling behind in their schoolwork and full of doubts about the wisdom of our educational choices.
As I gained my strength back I also gained my sense and I am so delighted that The Spouse and I made the decision to pull the boys out this week. It's like a cloud has lifted around here. The boys no longer "need" their computers for schoolwork and are suddenly back with us, hanging out in the the common areas of the house and even playing games together--real games, with boards and pieces not just pixels on a screen.
The Spouse and I are scrambling to make a plan because we do realize that the structure offered by Connections was a big draw for the boys. I guess they'll be wanting a daily list of tasks which is hard for me. Anything involving planning and organization is hard for me but hard is not necessarily bad.
Last night we went to a Kabbalat Shabbat service for the first time in ages. Friday nights are so hard for us, everyone is fried at the end of the week but that, of course, is exactly why coming together to welcome Shabbat is so very important. Plus the services were led by two good friends (one if Jonah's Hebrew tutor) who can always be counted on for spirit-lifting music and thoughtful discussion. Once we found out they were leading, we wanted to make the effort to go. Now that The Dark Lord is past his bar mitzvah he believes he never needs to set foot in a synagogue again and it was quite an effort to get him to come. I had to put up with lots of eye rolling and lame excuses but eventually stopped kvetching and joined us.
I woke up to a brilliantly sunny morning and was able to recognize it for the gift it is. I pulled on my trusty running shoes, grabbed my iPod and headed out the door for a good long walk. I hadn't done my full neighborhood loop (2.3 miles) in a couple of months for various reasons: time, weather, illness, whatever. I can usually come up with an excuse that will keep my sorry self in bed but I didn't even try this morning. I was anxious to get out and move. I started with the customary "hello" to the Muscovy duck around the corner, walked down through the sketchy part where I'm always a bit nervous, then the long walk up the hill, a quick stop to catch my breath, and then an easy walk home. I started this walk last spring in an attempt to get fit and lose some weight and came to find that I actually enjoyed this time to get to know my neighborhood and take note of changes as the months went by. After two horrible weeks of illness, I felt such immense joy at being able to get my body moving in the sunshine.
2 comments:
Okay, next time I come over, you're going to have to introduce me to the Muscovy duck! When we had chickens and ducks, someone brought us a Muscovy, not having any idea what it was--we didn't either. The one Muscovy attracted another and they hung around with our flock, though they were definitely outsiders and were never welcomed as full citizens by the other poultry. They'd hang around, sit on porches and poop, and then they'd go flying away, something that none of the rest of the birds could do. Eventually they left us for good, because they could. Very interesting personalities, they had.
So sorry to hear of your illness, Melisa. I'm glad you felt chipper enough to get out. I purchased a good pair of walking shoes, myself, last week and have been trying to do little things ... like walk up stairs rather than ride elevators. Anything to keep me moving.
Let me know how your healthy walks go for you. I'll be mirroring your efforts from 2500 miles away:)
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