Things Sure Change on a Dime

Boy, I don't know if it was the appearance of the sun or what, but suddenly life ain't so depressing. What a difference a little light can make. On the day that I was pining for the sun and alluding to feeling depressed at the state of the world, suddenly things took a turn for the better, and just like that, my POV improved.

At the beginning of the week, there sure was a gloomy outlook. Part of the problem was recovering from a parental visit and also having obligations eating away at me-the guilt thing. Also, it just takes time getting back into the swing of things when your routine is disrupted. Mind you, this is not necessarily a bad thing.

My in-laws were here into the beginning of this week, so there was a lot to take care of. I find when they are here, it's not that difficult to maintain certain routines, while others fall by the wayside. It's easy enough to prepare meals and take care of certain odds and ends around the house, but writing can be a little more challenging, especially during the daylight hours, and yard work can take a blow. Don't get me wrong, it was a really nice visit, but sometimes it's nice to have the complete freedom in your house that you're used to, like farting whenever you please.

Besides, I feel an obligation to make sure my in-laws are having fun, even though they are extremely low maintenance. Even still, my father in law is extremely restless, and I couldn't help but think he was bored at points, and would be bored living up here, though I'm really not sure what he does at home that he can't do up here. If anything, there are more things up here to entertain him than there, but I have to remember that it's not home.

Another thing that's been eating away at me was writing for WPE. I promised to come through for them but found myself wanting to blow it off. Because I was venturing into new territory, there was a steep learning curve and the writing stalled at some points. But I persevered and sent the piece off to DO, hope he likes it. AND, I hope to write more for them, even though they pay me nothing, I'd still like to help.

Okay, enough of the downer stuff. My mood has lifted, and it all seems to stem from one thing-seeing the sun. We finally got a nice day of weather and the rain stopped and it was beautiful. And just like that, everything changed. Suddenly I saw birds around the house, there seemed to be more bugs flying around, and life was good. I found out what might be the problem with our blueberries (soil is not acidic enough), and even looked into getting some fruit trees as well as more blueberries. AND, after visiting the flower farm, I think I may have a better idea about our blackberry bushes. So far, so good.

Also, one of the problems was that our bird feeder was clogged and the birds couldn't replenish the seed supply. I cleaned it out and refilled it, and on the very day I saw several birds and some hummingbirds at the feeder. Life is good.

We discovered, or should I say re-discovered the local library, and re-connected with some friends. I never know what's going on over that library, but thanks to CH I hear now and then. We went over to the summer reading kickoff picnic, I wasn't sure what to expect. At the very least, our buddy CH was going to be there, reason enough to attend. We couldn't get there in time for the picnic, but made it to the story, and it was nice because the kids played together in a random, unstructured manner, and it simply warmed my heart. Best of all, the kids were all nice to each other, and they were all different ages, and there were other nice girls. You can't beat that. Stoked!

We re-connected with AG and his kids A and I. I still really like AG, though she's a bit older, but she's so nice. She strikes me as mellow, thoughtful, and smart. Those aren't critical, all that matters is she's nice, but they're just observations. We hope to see them more, but new personal developments came up on their part, so we'll take it slowly. Let's just say that we have the means to communicate and will do so.

We did our Wed thing at G&T's, and Thu riding was canceled due to weather, even though we jumped through hoops to get the car. Not a complete loss, however, because we managed to get to one of my personal favorites stores, Rugged Bear, and got the kids new raincoats and N some shorts that he likes and will hopefully wear. We shall see. One cute note-the changing rooms were full, so the salesperson said he could just go into a corner of the store and drop his drawers. He opted to change in a circular rack, and watching him was just too cute. Kids, they break your heart.

With riding canceled, we went to the Coop and then the library, where we saw the Mack's for the second time this week. We've seen them twice now this week, short visits, but visits nonetheless. They are very busy.

We got a makeup riding lesson on Friday, and we got to see J of R&J fame. A got to ride with I, and it was nice, though J has a constant energy that I find difficult to keep up with, she's always looking for something to do. Comes with being smart, I believe, a certain restlessness that is rooted in having an active mind. Just my opinion.

Then, of course, we spent some time at Balloon Fest. Good to get a quick fix and be done with it. I'm so over that whole thing, such a ripoff, but we managed to get some breaks, and there was a killer band called Changes in Latitude, and the weather finally broke and the balloons took off in unison, which is always a magical sight to behold.

It just feels good to get things done and out of the way, not that I don't like the challenge. It's just nice not to have to think so hard all the time. Until the next time, thanks for reading.