Our great nation and our freedoms are slipping away. Life as we knew it, is no longer. My youth has fled. I am slipping away from God, family and friends. Time with my kids has dwindled and does not happen near as often as I'd like. I have strayed from the things I love doing, from fitness, healthy eating, dancing, etc. Time is always slipping away, and now summer is slipping away and the days are getting shorter. 😭
The Stone Craft Bible study, 'What Is God Like' had an analogy this week that I could really understand. I’ll sort of paraphrase it. Basically it said that our relationship with God can be similar to us trying to maintain our goal weight. (Or for me, the fitness level I was striving for before Covid-19 closed the gym.)
The closer you stay to your goal weight the easier it is to maintain. If you gain a couple of pounds it takes almost no effort to get it off. If you gain 10 pounds it takes more effort but it’s still doable. However the further away from your goal weight you get the harder you have to work and the more impossible it seems, to get back to where you want your weight to be. In fact, you can get so far from your goal weight you might be tempted to give up. (This is where I am with getting back into shape.)
In some respects, fostering your relationship with God is like maintaining your goal weight. It is easier to hear his voice and sense his presence the more closely you stay connected with him. When you allow a feeling of distance to develop in your relationship with him through busyness, discouragement, or disobedience, his voice can be less distinct and his presence not as discernible. If you do not humble yourself and acknowledge your need for him, you will feel as if you are walking further away from him. The distractions could become more appealing, and your desire to listen to him will be weaker. You could begin to rationalize your behavior, and every decision can reinforce the pattern until you no longer clearly hear his voice because you’re no longer listening for it. (This type of setback I am all too familiar with.)
Saturday 8/29 - Maggie had a tummy ache, kept eating grass instead of taking care of business during our first morning walk. I decided to go ahead and feed her breakfast, which I did in the garage, and then sat with her out there, expecting her to vomit. It never happened and after 45 minutes, she actually started acting better.
Babe up on the tire, Mama Styx on the ladder, and Monita on the bench. Babe likes to pick up and drag cat blankets around. Well, she was trying to do this with the hammock, but had no luck.
Joe and Maggie were out enjoying the morning's warm sun, with the air temperature about 77°, while I sat in the sun room computerizing.
I had a great deal of concern for Courtney, who has been fighting depression. I felt she has been slipping away, more and more. I really wasn’t sure what she was thinking or feeling because she wasn’t really communicating. Finally, late in the morning, she committed to coming here for a visit the following day. This relieved my anxiety and filled me with joy.
I finally got up from my computer at 11:30 and started work in the yard. I dead headed all my flowers, weeded, and put down two more bags of mulch.
After a big supper (late lunch or early dinner) at 3:30, I went to the barn for our second parade of breed practice.
Patty was trying out her costume with Zorro. Spoiler alert - He will have the mark of Zorro (Z) on both hips and a black mask while she wears a cap and carries a sword.
I wore my skirt (rather than the sheet) to give Amiga a sense of how it would feel and look to her.
Amiga did a nice job on the route, although was a tad wound up.
Jason had his team of Percheron Draft horses hitched, and was practicing with them.
Many others also rode or walked the route with their horses.
Jan, who does a fantastic job of organizing and orchestrating this big event, didn't even saddle up Cash to practice until everyone else was done. I read her write-up for her, so she could get the timing of her presentation.
Zorro did something, causing him to go lame, so we tried to evaluate and treat him.
I didn't get home until 7pm. After feeding the critters, I ran to the store for food supplies for Courtney's visit. By the time I showered and cleaned litter boxes, the day had slipped away.
Sunday 8/30 - I slept later than usual. I decided to walk the 17th hole of Druid, behind our neighborhood, to get a photo of the fog. By the time Maggie and I got to the pond in front of the green, the fog was slipping away.
I circled our house in pink to give you an idea of where it is located in relation to the fairway, pond, and green. The cart path was behind me.
It happened again. Courtney was not feeling up to coming for a visit. She was thinking it would be too much effort, but I was able to talk her into giving it a try. Once I knew she was really coming, I cleaned house and then started preparing food.Patty joined us for a late lunch of spaghetti, garlic bread, toss salad, and fruit salad.
We started a jigsaw puzzle mid afternoon. Patty and I turned pieces over while Courtney started on the edge. This is a giraffe shaped puzzle - a little tricky.
It was good to just hang out with Courtney, and I think (hope) good for her also.
Courtney complained of being tired and wanting to take a nap throughout her visit. Patty and I left her on the couch and headed to the barn to check on Zorro. He was a little better, but still favoring his back left leg when turning to the right. We treated him as best we could and left him in his stall for another night.
When we got home, Courtney was asleep on the couch. Patty headed back to her house and I did dishes and pet care chores.
Stevie and Monita on the couch. Babe and Mama Styx on the floor.
Once Courtney woke up, we had popcorn and watched a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers movie, Let's Dance.
Courtney headed home before it was over, at 7:45.
I finished the movie and hit the hay.
It was cool and cloudy and I just stayed put, running the dishwasher, doing two loads of laundry, and finishing the edge of the puzzle. It barely fit on the table.
There was the threat of rain all day and the sun never really came out. I ended up taking two naps out on the porch swing. I was nearing the end of my book which was getting exciting, but was just so sleepy. This was the residual effects of the sleeping pill from the night before.
Joe and I met with a Blue Cross Insurance agent. With me going on Medicare in three months, my TRS changes and the supplementary insurance will actually be more expensive so I was looking to switch to Blue Cross.
After feeding the dog and cats, I decided I had to get some exercise, so Maggie and I headed out on a long walk. I saw this dead timber rattler near the edge of the paved path. I suspected somebody freaked out and killed it, which is illegal. We need to try to co-exist with all our wildlife, friend or foe.
Here Maggie lays, on the fringe of the 18th green. You can see the mountains several miles away and the overcast sky that prevailed all day. After our 90 minute walk, I concluded the evening reading.
Tuesday 9/1 - Hard to believe August is over, and summer is slipping into fall. It was gloomy and difficult to get motivated. After doing all my computerizing, I moved into the living room and worked on the giraffe jigsaw puzzle. I had to discourage cats who kept trying to steal pieces.
The insurance sales man returned and I got signed up for Blue Cross, a much better deal than TRS supplemental.
I was tempted to take a nap with the rest of the crew (video) but decided to get some work done out in the yard. Believe it or not, there were still leaves (quite rotten by now) under some bushes and in more of the phlox. I worked at removal.
I had to work (subbing for Mike) and by the time I got there, I was hot and tried. A jump in the pool was quite refreshing.
Home by 7pm, I did the usual evening chores. I also went on a 'mouse hunt' with the yard stick to reach under furniture, finding all these cat toys. I keep them in my bedside table, for bedtime fun with the cats.
Thankfully, Joe talked me into getting off my butt and doing a hike with him.
We are doing the Hiking Marathon again this year, and have the month of September to complete the 26.2 miles in 12 different hikes.
Maggi is also registered, along with 400 other dogs, and there are 2050 hikers committed to doing it. We hike with Maggie off leash and she likes to run back and forth between us.
By the last mile of the 4.2 hike we did, I was kind of dragging. I need to get back into shape.
It was very humid and getting pretty hot, so Maggie also slowed down. At least she was able to splash, cool off, and drink in the babbling brooks we crossed several times.
Once home, I decided to do some stretches and yoga (first time in five months). Stevie joined me down on the floor.
I worked a 1:45-6:45 shift, getting in the pool several times because it was so hot out.
Having been up since 2am, without a nap, I was in bed with the lights out before 9pm.
Thursday 9/3 - I had a little time to work on the puzzle before going to work at the pool at 9:15. Stevie just wanted to watch, she was not threatening to destroy the puzzle or take a piece.
The last hour of my shift at the pool, a few rain showers passed through the area. It was during my 30 minute disinfecting time when everyone had already left and also gave me time to read the paper while I ate my lunch.
I had planned to go straight to the barn, but it was still threatening to rain, and with all we had gotten, I figured it would be too wet, muddy and slippery on the trails.
Once home, I decided to hike the Seven Bridges trail that is a half mile from us. Maggie joined me but Joe did not.
It was very muggy so the dog enjoyed cooling off in the stream that ran along part of the trail.
Still needing to cool off and dry off after my shower, I finished the giraffe puzzle.
Then Joe and I went in to Crossville. We grabbed some things at Walmart before going to Beef and Barrel.
We had to get there early to be sure to get seats because there were no reserved tables left. Brian and Joann arrived later and we enjoyed dinner and drinks.
We were under a large umbrella out on the patio, staying out of the occasional light rain that was occurring. As we were finishing up dinner the rain came down harder. Brian and Joe had planned to leave but we ladies were going to stay for karaoke. So we moved under the roof and sat with two other ladies I knew. About then, it started to pour, and did so for quite awhile.Joann has been one of my summer dancing buddies. She was a real go getter, jumping up to dance more than I was inclined, and getting me to join her. We had a lot of fun, dancing a lot, and actually getting some exercise.
By 8am, Joe was on the road, heading to St. Louis (for an evening at a casino playing poker) and then was going on to Illinois for the weekend.
At my 10:45 Dr. apt. I got a clean bill of health (all my blood work up and even my weight were great) but I admitted to depression, aches and pains, and loss of muscle strength, flexibility, and endurance. Some of my numbers like blood sugar and cholesterol had changed (probably due to the lack of real aerobic exercise) and the plan was for me to hit the gym again.
On my way home, I dropped in at the library to turn in a few paperbacks and pick out some more to read. I waited for an early afternoon rain (predicted but never happened) and then went to the barn from 2:30 to 7:30pm. I rode out from the barn as the work staff was dumping feed into stall buckets, and once across the street, Amiga and I could hear them calling for the horses to come in. At this point, Amiga completely refused to go farther away from the barn.
We didn't get wet, but the rain hit hard just as we entered the barn. Amiga got her much wanted grain and I ran out to my car to close windows. Then I spent a good deal of time cleaning my tack, in preparation for the parade. My saddle looks so much better.
I was planning to practice the parade route, but with all the rain we got, the grass would be much too slippery and I didn't want Amiga to put pock marks in the yard. So we practiced in the barn. I tied a sheet around my waist to resemble my long skirt. I rode without my saddle because I didn't want to get it dirty. Jan took these photos. Once the rain had basically stopped, I took Amiga out on the drive, went down it and across the street and around the garden and came back. My horse did great, even with the blanket flapping in the breeze. She never refused to go forward, gaited collected, and slowed to a walk when asked. I groomed Amiga well, treated her scratches and tail, and hoped we were ready to go for the parade in two days. Time had slipped away and there would be no more practicing.
My pets at home were very ready for dinner. I had popcorn here at my computer and turned in to bed at 9:30.
No comments:
Post a Comment