General Sorts of Stuff

Not philosophical, just fun

My friends and I had an outdoor fire at our retreat tonight.

I could spend this whole post waxing philosophical about the appeal of sitting around a fire.

I could get anthropological or psychological about the needs that are met by sitting with friends around the flames.

But really, the whole point is that it was fun and relaxing to sit there chatting while the fire crackled, being grateful that things like this are possible again.

A campfire burns, enclosed by a circle of rocks and dirt.?
Image description: a campfire burns, enclosed by a circle of rocks and dirt.

30 Days of Posts!

My goal with this blog in June was to post every day, completely avoiding any expectations of writing ‘well’ or being insightful.

I just wanted to write daily.

And I’ve done it!

Gold star for me! ??

I definitely wasn’t insightful and some posts barely had enough text to count as a post but I was consistent and put *something* up every day.

And that makes me really happy!

I struggle with consistency so this is a real victory.

I’m going to keep posting in July but I’m going to plan things out a little more and not just hope that something postable floats into my consciousness.

I don’t think anyone has been reading this month but, just in case, thank you for spending a little time with me words.

See you tomorrow!

A GIF of a person in a dress waving two balloons, one is a 3 and one is a 0.
Image description: A GIF of a person in a dress stands on a road with field and a lake behind her. She is waving two balloons, one shaped like a 3 and one shaped like a 0.

When to move and when to rest…who knows?

A light-haired dog walking among some white flowers.
Image description: My dog, Khalee, in the middle of some white flowers with green leaves.

Yesterday, I did something weird to my back and all the muscles winched themselves two notches tighter.

All last night and today, I have been alternating between resting and moving.

I took a couple of short walks.

I lay down on the floor for a while.

I did a little yoga.

I sat in my chair with a massage ball on a few pressure points.

I stretched a bit.

I lay on my bed with a pillow under the small of my back.

It’s a tricky business, back pain, and it’s damn hard to know whether to keep moving or to get more rest.

I guess I’ll have to keep figuring it out as I go.

Last Day of School…ish.

All day, my Facebook feed was filled with families celebrating the last day of school. I’m thrilled for them but I feel weird about the last day of school this year.

I mean, for starters, school has been long over for everyone in our house. My eldest finished his university term a couple of months ago and my homeschooled youngest son finished his Grade 11 classes in the first week of June.

So today wasn’t our last anything, really.

And, of course, since we were doing lessons at the kitchen table, the change from homeschool to no school was not the definitive change that it would have been if he had been going to regular classes.

It’s just a bit odd and I feel a bit melancholy about it.

I can remember all those times walking home with the kids on the last day of school singing the little song we had made up to celebrate my eldest’s last day of kindergarten. It was always so exciting to be schedule-free and ready to just hang out together.

It’s natural for things to change, of course, and I am really okay with it, just kind of nostalgic and wishing there was a bit more ceremony for this second last ‘last day of school!’ for our family.

This time next year, my youngest will have graduated high school. I’ll have to be sure to create more ceremony around the very last last day.

Meanwhile, I am thrilled for all those excited kids and excited parents and relieved and excited teachers. This year has been a hard slog for everyone and they all deserve some damn rest.

This gif goes out to my friend Jan who is an amazing teacher and a big fan of the Muppets.

I’m proud of you and your hard work, my dear friend, enjoy your summer!

Muppet Kermit the frog flails his arms while sitting on the edge of a large desk.
Image description: a gif of Kermit the frog sitting on the edge of desk and flailing his arms. The text beneath reads ‘LAST DAY!!!!!!’

Feeling Sick Is Boring

I found out a couple of years ago that the headaches that have plagued me for years are actually migraines. They have been relatively infrequent, just a few times a year, but they have been awful. Finding out that they were migraines was a kind of relief, actually, because it made me learn to take better care of myself instead of trying to power through them.

Over the last year though, things have taken a different turn and I have been having ‘silent’ migraines. All of the other awful symptoms but with no actual head pain.

I have a few days of being unfocused and sleepy (which I only notice in retrospect) and then I have an evening of feeling hellish.It’s horrible, of course, but it passes fairly quickly.

It’s the next day that really upsets me though.

That’s the day I feel better than I did but still not good. I’m well enough to do necessary things but not up to doing much. I feel okay enough to feel weird about lying around but I know that, if I don’t rest, this feeling will go on longer.

I can read but I’m not very focused. I can’t watch a tv show without feeling a bit nauseated. I don’t feel up to drawing. I’m too bleh to have a conversation.

It’s just boring, boring, boring.

Apparently, I *can* write a blog post though. 😉

A photo looking up at light fixture ceiling fan with brown blades.
My view all day. Image description: a photo looking up at a light fixture/fan with brown fan blades on a white ceiling. The top edge of a window can be seen at the bottom of the photo.