I finally received all of my test results back and saw my specialist last week. Yea, I have bronchiectasis. (Because I couldn’t get something I can pronounce). 🤦
As diseases/conditions go, it isn’t the worst one to get. It is rather miserable since it makes it difficult to breathe, which is never fun (my bronchial tubes are swollen up from scar tissue and the like). It is chronic but can be managed with medication and exercise. I do have to go to the hospital for more testing and I am not thrilled about that. But, it is not fatal – so there is that. 😊
It is rather damp and chilly out today but I had better get out there and get walking. I have to work to get my lung function and blood oxygen level up. 🙄
It is so strange that we can hear the same truth repeated over and over in our lives and never really understand the meaning or importance of the message.
I was raised in a relatively loving home. The Catholic Church and her teaching were a foundation of our lives. I have read countless books on self improvement. Through all of my life, the concept of forgiveness and unconditional love has been brought forth time and time again. I thought I ‘got it’.
I have tried to be a good, caring person. I have tried to not be angry or hateful towards others. I have tried to not be vengeful or judgemental. I honestly thought I had a fairly good grasp on living a ‘good’ life.
Early this spring, I developed health issues that seriously impaired my life. I was driven to retire from my job (a few months earlier than planned) and to start living a healthier life. As part of my healing, I began walking – a lot! – on a regular basis. My walks gave me time to think and many of my thoughts focussed on peace. (Which coincidentally was the subject I had chosen to focus on in 2020).
Walking in itself did wonders for easing my stress level. Spending time in nature on a regular basis was relaxing and beneficial. I walked for my peace. I walked for my family’s peace. I walked for peace for friends and neighbours and strangers. While my health was my initial reason for walking, peace was the driving force that kept me going.
These past few days, while I still walked every day and enjoyed my time in nature, I have started to struggle to stay focussed on peace. There have been a number of things happening that I have been dealing with – ongoing issues with my daughter, my son’s upcoming wedding (which will involve spending a couple of days socializing with my ex-husband and his family), politics – specifically a provincial election which will once again result in a landslide win for a party led by people who have caused serious grief and pain to many – including my family, and with colder weather moving in, a return to having my husband watching his television programs in the livingroom. (I love my husband and I certainly want him to be comfortable on his days off, but personally I am uncomfortable with television programs the likes of Jerry Springer in our house).
All of these situations have cost me a lot of peace. I ‘block’ one disturbing thing out of my consciousness and three more things gnaw at me. It has become increasingly frustrating.
FINALLYI get it!
Peace is one of those things that you cannot just have and hoard. You cannot have peace and choose to share it with some, while withholding it from others. You do not get to decide who is worthy of peace.
For the last couple of days, I have been walking for peace – for myself, for my family, for friends and neighbours and strangers – but including andspecifically for those who I had been previously trying to block from my peaceful consciousness.
I feel so much better. The more I walk for peace for myself and others, including walking for those who challenge my peace, the more peaceful I become. Seriously – how simple is that? 🤷
Last night I read ‘Staying On The Path’ by Dr. Wayne Dyer. It is a collection of some of his popular observations and quotes. One that I had not come across before (despite being a huge Wayne Dyer fan) was “How old would you be, if you didn’t know how old you are?”
My first thought, if I was not looking in a mirror or considering how old my children are, was forties – maybe fifties. In reality, I am sixty-five but I was thinking more in line with what I have learned and done in life and what I have left to learn and do.
Then I just closed my eyes and just went by how I felt – no thought for my history or my potential future. When I thought along those lines, I felt timeless – age seemed totally irrelevant.
It is a really good question. “How old would you be, if you didn’t know how old you are?”
I am taking it easy today. I went for a walk with Kat this morning. She’s taking it slow lately due to a bum leg. I take her for a walk around our route, bring her home for a treat, and then go back for a brisker walk by myself.
Kat resting after her nap.
I snapped a few pictures in the garden while I was outside.
Our bell peppers are amazing this year.Our jalapenos and other hot peppers are prolific.Our Roma’s and San Marzanos are finally ripening Kat has Tiny Tim tomatoes ripening faster than she can eat them.A couple of our carrots have gone to seed. I have never seen that before but we have plenty of them and they are huge this year.Out geraniums are still in bloom!
Time to rest and relax for a bit before I start supper.
One of the ubiquitous phrases I have noticed on social media recently relates to ‘finding one’s tribe’. Since I am about as about as outgoing as your basic hermit, I didn’t really think this was a quest that I would ever embark on.
Today I realized that I am less of a hermit and more of a nomad. I have always had a ‘tribe’. As a child, I had my family and my fellow schoolmates. As a young wife and mother, I had my own family and my neighbours. As my children grew up and I became a solid member of the workforce, I had employers, fellow employees, suppliers and customers. When my children became even older, my tribe grew to include a parade of amazing and entertaining grandchildren.
With my retirement, my children and grandchildren getting busy with their own lives, and my siblings some distance away, I truly felt my tribe dwindling down to my husband and my little dog, Kat. Between work and golf for my husband, it was often pretty much me and my dog.
Except that, since I have started blogging, I have met many interesting and wonderful people on WordPress. I look forward to seeing their posts and I enjoy seeing that they have read mine. 🙂 I truly enjoy exchanging the random comments. I have met people I have much in common with, people I have something surprisingly in common with and some whom I find thoroughly fascinating because we seem to have nothing in common. 🤷
I have started meeting our neighbours and found that I once again enjoy the time it takes for a front yard chat. I even had one little neighbour over for a playdate with my grandson recently.
And I have started to meet and greet the regulars that I meet on my morning walks. There is one woman I have spoken to a few times. This morning, we had a lengthy chat. One topic led to another. I swear we have been living in a parellel universe for the past sixty-five years. I look forward to meeting up with her on a regular basis.
Whether I was searching or not, I seem to be finding my new tribe!
As summer winds down and Dan has returned to work, things are coming together.
Kat is grounded for a few days with a sore paw (seems to be a bit of a sprain). As long as she is limping, even a little bit, I think it is better for her to stay home and rest when I take my daily walk.
I miss Kat on my walks but it gives me a bit of freedom to pick up the pace and extend my walks. This morning I went 5.5 kilometers! YAY!
Dominic Danger
I had my five year old grandson Dominic for a few hours yesterday. His father (my son) wanted his middle name to be ‘Danger’ when he was born. There are days when that would have been so appropriate. Yesterday was one of the days! He was full of energy and bad ideas from the minute he arrived. Fortunately, I was able to channel most of that energy into creative and slightly messy activities.
One of many cedars in our yard.
I finally fertilized and soaked all of our cedars. That was a two or three day project but I am glad that it is done.
Grandkids Playhouse
I scrubbed the deck on the kids’ playhouse, wiped down the railing and polished the lites. I usually have that done much earlier in the season but it was one of those things that I just did not get around to. 🙄
I trimmed and mowed our lawn last evening after Dan went to work. I even got the grass clippings bag hauled to the back gate and into the trash bin! I was so proud of myself. 🤗
I also cleaned all the branches and debris off of our neighbours lawn, mowed it, and swept her driveway. Our neighbour lost her husband a few years ago and a couple of years later suffered a serious stroke. She is in a rehabilitation/longterm care centre. They took a lot of pride in their home and took such good care of it. I do not know why there is no one to maintain it or check up on it now. They both had family living around here. 🤷 We take turns with the neighbour on the other side of it doing what we can – making the lawn looked taken care of. We are just trying to make it look somewhat lived in until someone takes it over.
Hope everyone is having a great week! Take care out there💓
After a month of holidays, my husband headed back to work this morning. I would say we are back to our normal schedule, but with his twenty four/ seven shifts we do not really have a normal schedule.
It has been a nice month. We did not accomplish a lot but it was relaxing having Dan home. I spent a lot of time walking my dog, getting in shape and clearing my thoughts. It is amazing the things you think about when you are wandering the same streets and paths day after day. I plan to share some of those thoughts on my blog in the days to come.
I hope everyone has had a nice summer. With September just around the corner, our summer days will soon be gone. 😢
It is hard to believe how busy one can be doing very little of consequence. In my quest to putter around to keep occupied – without actually investing a lot of effort into my mission – I managed to snap a few random shots to share.
Our Brown Eyed Susan finally bloomed 🌞Our lillies are still bloomingPuff the Magic Dragon 🐉Dan refinished another garden ornament – originally a hummingbird feeder from Jennifer.Wednesdays with DomA painting from Genie – I love the colors and the ELEPHANT! 💗Peace is my path 😉
Probably the most iconic landmark in Regina is the Albert Street Bridge. The Albert Street Bridge is the longest bridge over the shortest span of water in the world. It is situated off the entrance of our beautiful Wascana Park and the Saskatchewan Legislative Building grounds.
One end of Albert Street Bridge – this entire section is south of Wascana Creek.One of several buffalo sculptures that decorate Albert Street Bridge.Decorative pillars line both sides of the bridge.Saskatchewan coat of armsLooking west off of the Albert Street BridgeAlbert Street Bridge as seen from Rotary Park trail.
I hope you have a beautiful day to get out and do some sight seeing today. In these days, when travel is discouraged, there are sights worth exploring close to home.
Seclusion 101 with AnneMarie 