Another Round

I've been doing yoga almost daily and my body is still cranky, but I also haven't had bodywork since early in the year. 

I intensely miss seeing people outside of my bubble so my body isn’t the only thing that’s cranky.

I'm on the mailing list of this restorative yoga teacher and she's offering a savasana the day before the election and she also mentioned that she's been practicing restorative a lot lately and it dawned on me that that's why I'm doing a lot of restorative yoga. Honestly, I think that I'd be totally dysfunctional without yoga right now. The stress is still there but it would be worse. 

I was thinking about the toll that this current toxic stew has taken on people's health... I remember reading that more people have heart attacks on Monday. Can't even imagine what's going on now...

Went for a walk with my cousin yesterday and she talked about how she'd read how being outside makes you feel better and that she said that her mood really is elevated when she gets out. 

Posted this "fall vibes" picture and a friend left a message saying that she had been in the park and when I talked to her, found out that she was in the park at the exact same time -- wish that I had known...

Knew that Barrett was going to be confirmed but it didn't make it any less upsetting -- especially when I saw this nonsense.

Got off Twitter and went to do another round of restorative yoga.

The Singer's Name

Met with an out-of-town friend last Monday. As we negotiated plans, she asked me where I wanted to meet and I listed a couple of options and described one place as one where I loved to walk and she wrote, "Let's do the walk you love." Seeing that sentence immediately changed my mood and made me smile. 

From now on, I am requesting that all talks about meeting up, end this way. Just kidding... 

We went for a walk and we both had our masks on and, wow, walking without a mask -- I miss that. 

This relationship with this friend is a reminder to embrace serendipity. It has also been a lesson in living a balanced life... 

I was thinking about a friend and former coworker on Monday. Was working from home yesterday but needed to print some things so I headed to the office at an odd time. Went by a community garden that this friend belongs to but she's not usually there on Wednesdays.  Spotted her car, pulled over and grabbed my mask so that I could chit chat... Most of the sunflowers are gone but she still had zinnias and gave me a bouquet of zinnia and lavender -- a moment of delight in a world that makes little sense right now. 

The garden has tons of other things. In fact, a man gave me red chili peppers. Saw tomatoes too but I guess that sunflowers were special to me because the goldfinches loved them. 

My other synchronous moment happened last Friday. Met a friend in the park for yoga. In the morning a singer popped into my head and I shared lyrics from one of her songs and mentioned the singer again at the end of class -- not even knowing what was up with my repetition. 

Noticed my friend pause at the mention of the singer but I've learned not to make assumptions while people practice yoga. The next morning she messaged me to say that she had been thinking about names for her puppy and it was a variation of the singer's name. 

Balcony or Not

Didn't feel like doing anything for my birthday but one of my aunts kept pushing for a celebration of some fashion so a handful of us got together and spaced out. We had French onion soup, salad and other sides and I was having a good time until...

my iPod kept showing alerts and, damn, Ruth Bader Ginsburg is no more. My aunt is a retired nurse so, of course, she came from the underlying issues perspective and, as others have said, our democracy should not have to rely on one Supreme Court judge.

This aunt also likes to make collages. The one picture in particular that I kept staring at was my baby picture. Life is hard right now but I kept thinking that that baby has come a long way and has had a relatively safe journey...

So far, I've canceled two memberships and have taken my walking up a notch. When I walk now, though, I find myself looking at people with balconies, side porches and stand-alone sun porches. I find myself coveting these spaces and think about how nice it would be to sit on a balcony while reading. In my fantasy space, I also think about doing yoga. 

And, yoga... If I get to practice at night, I count my lucky stars because in my current role as caretaker, it doesn't always happen. So, in the end, I guess it doesn't matter if have a balcony or not...

Sent a birthday card to the yoga teacher that I went on the retreat with when 45 won the election. Knowing what I know now about teaching yoga, I thanked her for the class that she led the morning after. It was a difficult task and she was able to pull herself together even though there were several of us sobbing. 

She had also been thinking about that day in Negril and said that 45 turned out to be a million times worse than she'd imagined and she talked about her privilege in taking the stance that she did but I told her that he had also turned out worse than I'd expected...

Listened to The Good German episode of Gaslit Nation and Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa are not surprised, at all, about 45.

Kendzior was on point on when she said that autocracy and fascism ends badly for everyone except a few profiteers and earlier in the episode when she talks about the depth of heartlessness.