I’m having one of those weeks where every single day I have an appointment or something I have to do. Hair, doctors, a fundraiser for trafficked women and men….Every single day it’s something. Sometimes it’s more than one thing. Also, my appointments are 45 minutes away in downtown Scottsdale, so while I make the drive, I make a list of what I can get done while I’m in civilization. With the price of gas, I might as well take advantage of a big drive and hit Trader Joe’s.
Yesterday I left the house at 8:30 a.m. Plenty of time for my morning pages, prayers and walk. But then I didn’t return home until 6:30 p.m. because of appointments and stuff to do and big gaps between my appointments 45 minutes from the house.
After a relaxing visit to the beach, I can handle it. I just don’t know why sometimes everything stacks up in one week. My son and I were talking about it. He’s been busy at work, doctors, socializing. We both agreed we’d prefer to socialize with friends once or twice a month! This weekend I’m having people over Friday and going to friends for dinner on Saturday.
I guess I should be thankful for the energy to get through the week. And the blessing of a good night’s sleep to get through the day’s activities. Sometimes I wonder if it’s the past few years of solitude that make it harder to be social or getting out of the house for activities and appointments?
This is one of the cacti I photographed last week covered in buds. It’s blooming nicely!
What are your thoughts on being busy versus quiet time at home? Do you think the COVID shut downs have changed how we view our solitude?
I enjoyed the shadows of the quail as much as the real birds.
I was watching the quail yesterday in our backyard after I threw a few handfuls of seed on the ground.
I began to notice shadows of the quail walking up and down a tree trunk.
I also loved watching the quail sitting on branches. When I first noticed them they were all on the branches. By the time I got my phone out to record, they had mostly jumped down to the ground.
Last weekend we were too busy. We went out with friends on Friday, Saturday I cooked oxtail soup for neighbors, and Sunday we got invited to watch the football games with friends.
This weekend, I’m looking for quiet time to read and work on taxes.
Have a great weekend!
What plans do you have for the weekend? Do you like solitude or being with people?
Looking out the sliding glass door to the back yard.
For some unknown reason, I woke up feeling very happy. It’s not unusual for me to be in a good mood, but today I feel exceptionally hopeful. I can’t stop smiling.
I’m trying to figure out what makes today different.
• I checked the temperature on my phone and it was in the low 70s. A perfect day for a walk.
• It’s bright and sunny after a few days of dark gray clouds.
• I went to sleep early and slept through the night.
• I have an entire day without a “to do list.”
• I’ve recently spent time with friends and had visits with my kids.
• I’m backing up my files on my new laptop — which by the way — doesn’t mysteriously delete my work.
• I had my home-baked banana nut bread with coffee for breakfast. Maybe it’s the sugar in the banana bread. The recipe is from my mom’s old orange Betty Crocker cookbook. It reminds me of my childhood.
• My rewrite of my manuscript is going well. I’ve decided to tell the story from the four main characters’ points of view rather than from one.
• I’m reading an enjoyable book called “The Optimist’s Daughter” by Eudora Welty.
What little things make you feel positive and encouraged for the day?
One of my favorite spots in the house. I love to sit at the table and look outside. We moved the table and chairs from Palm Springs. It was our kitchen/dining room table for 28 years and continues on in Arizona.
My husband and kids giving their Adams family look while visiting our daughter for a swim meet in college.
My quiet weekend alone ended in a flurry of phone calls Sunday afternoon, causing my anxiety to escalate. Poof! I lost the sense of peace just like that.
I was getting inundated with calls from my daughter, my husband, my son and two close friends. From my end, I felt like everybody was venting to me. My daughter was upset with my husband. My husband didn’t understand why our daughter was angry and crying. I wasn’t there so I felt helpless but wanted everyone to be happy.
Then my husband called again and said our daughter took him to the airport, but he was worried about the kids returning the U-haul. He didn’t have the time to do it himself before his flight home. He said the U-haul was difficult to drive, had poor visibility and that it had to be returned quite a distance away on the freeway.
So I took that burden of worry, too. I waited anxiously to hear that the kids returned it and were safely back in their homes.
I juggled with an onslaught of calls. Hanging up on one person to answer the call of another. Calling the person back that I hung up on, so they weren’t offended.
I was looking at news stories on my laptop and read there was a bomb threat and the campus had been evacuated where my son’s girlfriend’s brother was at school. I called my son to let him know. There were three campuses with bomb threats yesterday. Reading the news definitely wasn’t helping me.
The topper was the call back from my son. He said he and his sister were on the side of the freeway with a flat tire. They got the U-haul returned without a hitch, but then had a a blow out on the way back. My daughter was worried she was going to miss her comedy writing class that was scheduled to begin soon. They called AAA and were waiting for the tow truck.
Then my husband called from the Phoenix airport upset because he couldn’t find where he had parked the car after searching for 45 minutes. I took that to mean that it was my fault because I didn’t want to drive him there or pick him up. To be honest, I’m terrified of the freeways here. There are accidents every time I’ve been on them. And always someone driving 100 MPH weaving in and out of traffic. People drive crazy here. My daughter lived here for a year and she said she’d see five wrecks on her drive from Tempe to Scottsdale for work — every single day.
By the time my husband got home, my nerves were fried. I called to check on the kids and they were okay. They were safely back in their homes 700 feet apart. I tried to read and sat outside in the backyard missing the quiet happy feeling that I had bathed in only hours earlier. The peace that defined my weekend vanished as though it was a desert mirage.
Then Monday morning came and my husband woke up with the flu. I called the kids and they said that one of my son’s housemates had the flu. Ugh. I should stay in the casita and turn my phone off. I hope I’m not next for the flu. I haven’t been sick since February 2020.
On to tackle my Monday and back to NaNoWriMo.
Any suggestions on how to handle phone calls where things seem to be spiraling out of control? How do you not let other people’s problems become yours?
I got up early today because I had an appointment at the car dealership at 7:30 a.m. There’s a recall on our car. It was at risk of catching on fire, so I took the first appointment I could get.
My husband and I went for a walk in our neighborhood at 6:15 a.m. and I saw something that disturbed me greatly. At our little park a few blocks from our house there were a dozen kids waiting for the bus. They were all looking down at the their phones and nobody was talking to each other. They were all about six feet apart and I guess that’s a good thing? But the lack of interest in each other and their focus on their phones bothered me. They all looked very depressed.
What the heck is this generation going to be like in a few years? I know my kids hate to make phone calls. They never pick up the phone without trying to use a webpage, email or text first. But when they are around their peers, they don’t ignore each other. They joke and have fun together. They light up.
When I was a kid, I also had to walk to a bus stop. I walked with my brother and we’d laugh and talk and kick a rock during the quarter mile walk. Then we’d chat with the other kids at our bus stop. On the bus, we’d all be talking, laughing or singing songs.
I found this group of kids so depressing to see. They seemed isolated. Alone. Glued to their phones. I wonder if this is a result of the COVID shut down? Or, would they be like this anyway? Any thoughts? Have you noticed kids acting like this, too?
View from our neighborhood on a cloudy day.
I guess the good news is they are going to school in person, right? Maybe it’s the start of a new school year and they’re not happy?
