Equal Parts Rest, Recovery and Reset

Balance is a good thing. Everything in moderation. I can not off the top of my head think of another cliché to match those two but on Saturday the title of this entry  came to me and I've been considering the three parts ever since. I have always loved snow days. I have always felt the tug of Christmas when the first snow falls. I have also been looking forward to seeing snow and the changing season in my current dwelling feeling the strong conviction that  feeling every season here is important to my own well being. Perhaps I am beginning to sound like a broken record but for me the music of that record is soothing, and comforting. Equal parts, equal attention, fair and deliberate measuring and consistent energy given to the three R's of the title. Rest; sleep, down time, lessened expectations and duty, freeing the mind, the heart and the body. Recovery: healing, making a plan, loving and laughing. Reset; finding a new normal, making careful changes and trusting your ability to make them slowly and surely. On this snowy November day I feel the comfort of the rest, recovery and the reset that has taken place in the last five months. This season is so heavy with emotion, activity and expectation and I feel exactly on target with the management of it in all the ways I can contribute to and letting go of all the things I can't. I will allow it to unfold and I will embrace the gifts and the challenges. 

The Rain Must Fall

 Rain, recovery, rest and realization. I am at my desk on this blustery morning , heavy rain falling outside my street level window and feeling so content and blessed to be here for another writing day. City days and country visits are a part of my November /December plans and for now both places put me exactly where I need and want to be. Recovery has been gradual and steady since my June departure and for those who are walking by our side through this my choices need no explanation. The recovery , rest and realization belong to Burton and me and only us but the people who love us know the progress we are making. Those who don't, don't matter. On this wet day I think of those suffering in British Columbia. I think of the impact of climate change and the toll the pandemic has taken on our world. Personal loss and struggle exist for us all and each day is a gift we are given. On this day I will sit and write new words to make another book take shape.  I do not take that opportunity lightly just as I do not  take for granted the  privileges' of heat, a roof over my head , electricity ,food to eat, good health both physical and mental and family and friends who love and support me. I know how blessed I am. The rain will fall and the sun will shine again. Worry and hardship will bombard us but rest and recovery will  bring healing and joy.

Rainy Days and New Books

Grey November days are a thing. Color has just about disappeared in the landscape of deciduous trees and pumpkins and Halloween decorations are gone. The somber days leading up to Remembrance day come before  Christmas lets loose. We have had a couple of gorgeous sunny, warm days but this day seems more in tune with  grey days of November. The rain and dreary afternoon seems to me a perfect time for a nap and I will indulge myself when I finish this entry. Yesterday was a fulfilling and soul enriching day. I set out to accomplish several things and did just that. One of those tasks found me walking  an unfamiliar route with hilly streets and  buildings that I drive by often but had never walked there. Walking is so different than driving quickly by. In the walking I felt the buildings, the people , the sky and the distant sights. My heart swelled with contentment as I walked. I can not even explain the peace I'm feeling this week and the validation I feel in my current choice of where I need to be and when. My new book was delivered to the farm and Burton called right away when the boxes arrived. I was tempted to drive right over so I could open a box, take a book out and hold it in my hands. Jenna sent me a picture and I waited. Meg brought a copy to work today so I went and got it from her after having lunch with a friend. I held it , looked through it and then laid it with  my other ten  books  for pictures. Then I  put the book in the bookends my friend Karen gave me after my first book was published. Eleven books lined up between the boy and girl reading bookends. I love the look of that! Yesterday I sent off the ms for my spring book to my editor and look forward to the process ahead to get it to a book I hold and add to the  other ones . Jasper's Road will be the third in the series  following Ten Thousand Truths and Waiting For Still Water. When I read the last sentence yesterday before sending it along I wondered if another in the series would find it's way to my keyboard. Right now a new novel is in the beginning stage and I hope to write new words tomorrow. But now I nap!

A Change is as Good as a Rest

 I just returned from an invigorating  walk along the city sidewalks. The air was crisp enough for gloves but the sun was still strong and the wind held just  a hint of November. November is here and I feel it. I felt alive, optimistic, happy but yet sad and almost weepy. Weird the mix of emotions I am feeling these days. Actually I think most people are in a turmoil of emotion these days. There is a lot going on around us; pandemic uncertainty being one part of it. In New Brunswick we are now dealing with the upheaval of a CUPE strike. We are inundated with stressors and concerns. My head and heart reel at it all. Personally I am also in upheaval  but it is not all negative . A change is as good as a rest I told myself a few minutes ago. I have been re-charged by this change. I have felt a load lifted and have felt a freedom I haven't felt for a very long time. I have felt lonely and guilty along with it though but I am working through those feelings. I came upon a house on my walk that stopped me in my tracks. I first noticed the fixed up side and it was amazing. I gazed at the structure, the features and woodwork, the amazing beauty of an old house sitting up above  street level in grandeur . It was surrounded by a very old rock wall in state of crumbling disrepair , the original stonework and effort to build it impressive. The iron gates were also compromised and deteriorating. I walked around to the front of the building and was taken aback by the contrast. The front had not received the restoration the side and back had. It was in a very sad state of disrepair. The front steps and front stone wall were also in very bad shape but the original beauty still showed through. Obviously the owner is working away at a total restoration and little by little the daunting task will get done. A work in progress. A labor of love. Not giving up but believing in it's already proven worth and value. This house spoke loudly to me and I appreciate the message it was delivering. I would not have received that message if I'd not been exactly where I was and where I am on this first day of November. Change , challenge, risks and restoration along with some rest thrown in. For that I am grateful!