This is one week that I will be glad to whisk out the backdoor. Not that it was a bad week, no, I have had much worse. Instead, this has been of the wearisome variety, a wasted week. I have barely summoned the spirit to eat and what I have consumed has not been particularly healthy, or the motivation to get out and move which would surely raise my spirits. Instead, I sat, sometimes reading, sometimes scrolling on my phone. As a result, I experienced almost no sense of accomplishment or satisfaction.
Sadly, by the end of the week, I found myself unable to move from TV as the heartbreaking passing of Queen Elizabeth was announced. This sadness came on top of another long, weary week of legal gymnastics by #45 and his lawyers. Such a juxtaposition of grace and evil. These are challenging times we live in and sometimes it’s hard to keep a “stiff upper lip.” Happily, the upcoming week is busy, and I feel a renewed sense adventure, especially as we bring home the new van.
So this is my story, how I fell into a lackluster week. Monday morning, we received the news that John’s sister-in-law and possibly his brother had been diagnosed with Covid (again) after a trip to Wyoming. Since John is visiting with his family this weekend and we have remained Covid free SO FAR, I may have threatened that he would have to sleep in the car with the dog (who was also visiting his family) if he brought Covid home. We decided it best to take the Omicron vaccine immediately, if we could find it.
Several phone calls later, we found the vaccine by the brand we desired at a not so nearby pharmacy. Upon arrival, the smiling pharmacist asked if we wanted to take a flu shot with the Covid shot…. “CDC approved,” she said. Umm. Not much time to consider the pros and cons but we agreed. At that moment, the idea of a sore arm only once seemed to made sense.
Previously, both of us had experienced mild, fluish symptoms from the Covid vaccines beginning about 24 hours after the shot. We were surprised that the effects of this shot began to show up within two hours, again, both of us experiencing similar discomfort, tired and sluggish. The feeling stayed with us through Tuesday night.
Tuesday nights are granddaughter nights and although we were not 100%, we chose not to cancel the evening. Her parents brought her over on their way to yoga class and we discovered, once they shut the door behind them, she was having a bad day too. She started crying and for several hours, we went from distraction to distraction. The distractions didn’t last long before the crying resumed. Two squeaky toys from the pup’s toy box, a frog and a moose which had been somewhat recently washed (hang head in shame), seemed to quell the crying, or at least that was the last distraction before her parents returned. I suspect she is teething, and her parents told us (once they returned to pick her up) that her nap had been disrupted. John and I were feeling a little wrung out at the end of the visit but not discouraged. Next week is another week and hopefully she, along with us, will not be crying. Take a sweet nap baby girl!
By Wednesday I had retired to the porch to enjoy the sunshine and read. Tuesday (before the baby’s visit) I finished my September book club’s selection, “Bird by Bird” by Jane Lamott and had moved on to Stanley Tucci’s “Taste”. “Taste” was a quick and fun read, and by Friday, I was done. As always with food related books, this one had me dreaming about cooking. Too bad I am not really a cook.
Now I am scouring my bookshelves for another hardback or paperback for day reading. Twice I have picked up “Winter in Madrid” by CJ Sansom, but twice I have put it down. I think I have settled on “His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope” by Jon Meacham. The first few pages have my attention. BTW, my nighttime reading is by kindle where I am plugging away at “Mary Churchill’s War: The Wartime Diaries of Churchill’s Youngest Daughter” edited by Emma Soams. This book is not light reading and since I am reading just before I go to sleep (or in the middle of the night when I can’t sleep), it may take me the rest of the year to finish. Kidding but possibly into October. I have been sleeping through the night recently and have read only 45% of the book (thank you kindle accounting system).
By Thursday, I thought a walk might do me good, or at least adjust my attitude. I usually walk 5-7 times weekly but this week I had trouble getting myself out. By the time I finally got ready, John and Katie had lost patience and left, so I got out on my own. Hey, I guess I did accomplish something this week!
Walking and/or running has played an important role in my over 40 health, both physical and mental. Previously, during my working years, walking or running by myself was a chance to sort out thoughts and concerns and maybe solve some problems. In these days of retirement, solo walking rarely happens, but when does, it’s a nice bit of personal time. I enjoyed my five miles on this day, I thought it time well spent. Unfortunately, the time did not fix my attitude or cure my lackluster week.
Finally, the pup had a bad week too (enough bad already)! Thursday was spa day before her visit with John’s family. Not only did she spend the better part of 4 hours at the groomer getting a dreaded bath, but her hair cut is just this side of too short and she came home with these bows. The bows made me laugh; she was pretty indignant. John decided she looked embarrassed and pulled them out just after giving me a half second to take a photo. Poor Katie, she did seem unhappy, but I think John was the embarrassed one, or more likely horrified! She is his rough and tumble girl, not at all a prissy personality.
And with that, I’ll sign off. Next week will be book club, possibly a hike and we pick up the van. Life will be somewhat back on track.
