It has been a little minute since last we spoke. Things have been going well for me, I think. I'm falling more into a routine, and it's a new routine. Newness is rough at times.
Having the boys on weekends is a treat. They seems to love it here, and they adore the tiny house. I took them to an arcade in town--because one exists in Tooele--and they had a great time. Perhaps bowling at the same establishment is in our future there. The sad thing about arcades is when you are feeding video game machines for three little boys at the same time, that happy little hour of play costs about as much as a good massage. However, their tender minds were ROCKED when I took them on their very first round of laser tag! Thank goodness for black lights, techno music, and laser pointer guns. I'm sure the experience pretty much changed their lives forever.
There are been some things I've been struggling with, and I think I'm starting to get over these little obstacles as well. And of course it all comes with getting know myself better. But yes, some things:
1. When I am home, I am HOME! If I walk through my front--and only--door after a full day at work, it's be hard to get me to go out again. Especially for errands. Food can always wait if I don't have enough right now, or if what I do have doesn't really go together to make a meal. That Amazon package I had delivered to a pickup counter in town can wait another day, for I am home. However, now that I'm aware of this, I can work my way around it. Any errands I have to run I can do as I make it into town, before I open my door. We'll see how it goes.
2. I think my newest exercise endeavor is swimming. Do you remember my stories of being on the swim team for Carbon High? It's been a little minute since I've swum for actual exercise, but I think I found a great spot for that. There is an aquatic center just around the corner from where I live. I took the boys there the other day to play in the water and go down the water slide, and they had a blast. Lap swim is open all the day long, so I figured I'd go for a lap or two whilst I was there. (Don't worry, my sister was also with us, so the kids were still supervised.) What a treat it turned out to be! I don't have goggles right now, and with my long hair I need a swim cap, and the suit I was wearing isn't for lap swim, but it was like riding a bike. I'm sure I'm slow as F right now, but to swim, and to still have good form and relatively okay lung capacity is reassuring to realize. So I think I'll be stopping by the pool three times a week to swim for an hour.
This brings up another interesting point. A couple years ago I went through a big weight loss phase where I was dieting and running. At the end of it I ran my very first--and only--half marathon. I feel I was in good shape at that time, and then life happened and I put all the weight back on. I've been stuck thinking this whole time in Tooele that running is the way it has to be because it was so successful a couple years ago. I'm open now to trying new things, and I remain hopeful about where this might go. Though I know swimming isn't the greatest way to lose weight, it will do wonders for my low back and won't kill my knees. I think that's a win.
3. My life is more productive when I live out of a planner. I'm not the guy who requires a detailed to-do list in order to get anything done, but I do better if the big things are written down. I bought a new planner when I moved in to the tiny house as a way to start afresh and such, and then Covid happened and the planner was never opened again because for two weeks there was only one kind of day. I actually was scared to open it again, like something unknown would jump out at me from the pages, or I'd be reminded of something I didn't do. It took courage--yes, friend, COURAGE--to crack open that planner and start writing stuff in it. Important stuff. Stuff I wanna get DONE. So it rests constantly open on my countertop when I'm alone, and it gets put away when the boys are here. I've already found some reassurance in the fact that I have a thing that keeps other things organized, especially when I can't brain well enough to get it all together inside my head right now.
So why the dumpster fire, I hear you ask. Some things, some legal things, are beginning to happen instead of just staying in the future of 2020 as an additional thing to be afraid of. So really, even though the tone of this post is pretty peppy and positive, there is a mess I still haven't dealt with. And the processes to deal with the mess have started. I'll send you word on that in the future.
Warmly,
D.
P.S. Let's play a game, you and I. Sometimes writing blogs can be so one dimensional. As you may know already, I decided to take up playing the recorder back in January because I wanted to learn a new instrument. So how about I record a little something, and we both play Name That Tune.
Some background and thoughts as to why this is hilarious and awesome:
1. All I have is an iPhone for recording sound.
2. These songs will be recorded in one take and then left unedited because it's more like performing that way. Also I'm lazy.
3. These songs will only be the melody.
4. I am a NOVICE. I have been playing the tenor recorder for six months.
5. Not all songs are meant to be played on the recorder. But that's not gonna stop me!
This first round is a classic if you had a childhood like mine. Have a listen and a good chuckle. 5 points to anyone who gets it! (If I have shared this song with you before, you may get to sit this round out.) Click the link below and the song file will open in a new window.
Name That Tune, July 19 <--(That is the link!)
Swim levels on super bros!
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