You'd think time would pass slowly

I would have thought given the ongoing COVID pandemic and all that entails, plus working from home indefinitely, that time would pass slowly for me. Drag on. But here we are mid-way through September already and barreling toward you-know-what. (I don't even want to type it, though I've seen some of those decorations coming out in stores already, like Michael's. And I don't mean Hallowe'en!) Crazy.

 

This morning at the swamp, early signs of fall evident in the browning grasses and leaves.

 

 

The sun this morning around 7:15 AM (already posted on Pinterest). The sky wasn't dark, it just appeared that way when I zoomed in. I think we have a bit of light smoke in the atmosphere from the devastating fires on the west coast of the US.

There's little to write about, which is partly why I'm seldom blogging at the moment. (The other reason being that Pinterest is so much easier and faster.)

 

I did have a little "adventure" last Thursday, though. One of my co-workers picked me up after work hours and we drove a half-hour northwest to the home of another co-worker. She and her husband have ten acres of land off a gravel road, with horses and sheep for neighbours.

 

I never would leave.

 

 

We spent two lovely hours, socially distanced, sitting out in a screened-in gazebo and watching all the birds at the feeders while catching up. We hadn't seen each other in person in six months so it was great! It also was the most face-to-face human contact I've had since mid-March. (It's a wonder I'm still somewhat sane, what with the isolation.)

 

One thing the pandemic has brought home to me is how devoid of in-person support I am living here. When you're in the routine of going to and from work every day, chatting with "bus buddies" and store clerks and co-workers, it gives you the illusion of connection. But working from home in isolation has stripped that illusion away, leaving only reality. I admit it's been, and continues to be, a challenge.

 

I'm thankful every day for Derry, I'd be lost without his company.

 

 

His fur is growing back nicely, btw, and his lip is fine.

 

The other thing that has become so apparent to me is that this life I've created here doesn't "fit" who I am anymore, like a pair of shoes that chafes a toe but are otherwise in good condition.

 

I've known this for a long time, of course, years in fact, but again, the daily routines of work and life in general have kept me distracted. Without many of those distractions, reality has come home to roost, and it's not laying golden eggs. LOL.

 

There's a well-known proverb (Chinese?) that states, "Bloom where you are planted." I have agreed with that sentiment for many years, but lately I've come to understand that like some of the potted flowers in my garden that haven't done well, sometimes conditions aren't right for us to fully "bloom." In the case of my flowers, maybe it's the pot, the soil or the light, or some combination of all three. So it is with us. We can survive, perhaps even produce a "scraggly bloom" of sorts, but our ability to truly thrive,  to reach full "bloom," can't happen under all circumstances and in all conditions. 

 

 

Yes, I do have a deep awareness of and gratitude for my many, many blessings and for the gifts life has bestowed. But that doesn't silence the voice of my heart, or perhaps of my soul, that so wants something else at this time of my life, something meaningful, not just dutiful.

I suspect this happens to many of us of a certain age as we look ahead to the time when we can transition to another stage. When that comes, I hope I'll have the good health to make the transition well, the wisdom to see any opportunities that might arise, and the courage to seize them. In the meantime, there's still cats and chocolate. Never discount those!

Wishing you all peace and Blessings.

 

 

 

P.S. OMC, this new Blogger is giving me grief for the first time since I switched. Not in adding images but in trying to select text to format and edit. I've had to do most of that in code view this time. Agggghhhhh! Yet another reason to mostly stick to Instagram for the time being.