The Walk is In The Music

I am determined to get something done today. I say that every day and seldom accomplish more than my walk and cooking dinner. Today I will try a different approach; I will try to do a job before I walk. It will be a job that needs doing (no problem finding those) and one I can finish in a fairly short time period. There is no end to how lazy and pathetic it all sounds but the truth is I am as unmotivated as a person can get. Drat this cabin fever!

It is snowing again, Haley is happy, no school today. The forecast of 6-10" changed to 8-15" of new snow by tomorrow. That means I will be walking on my treadmill for quite a few days. The Park doesn't do a very good job of cleaning the roads these days, they stay icy, and snow covered until mother-nature helps out with thawing what the plows missed.

Enough of that. When I have the luxury of walking outside, I listen to music. My favorite companions lately have been The Great Lake Swimmers (they are fabulous), Glenn Miller, Percy Faith & His Orchestra and Medwyn Goodall. I have learned the hard way that when walking it really is all in the music. The mellow, peaceful music that I enjoy most is not to be tolerated when walking; it slows my pace and time stretches to eternity. In short, relaxing music turns walking into a punishment. I was very disappointed when I discovered this as I seem always to be searching for a clam center and music helps me find it. It has taken a while to wrap my mind around the thought that walking for exercise is not an exercise in meditation. I think I've got it now.

I feel obligated to state that I am so very thankful to God for my very small inconveniences and annoyances. These are troubled times and millions suffer here and abroad. Cabin fever breaks come spring and a healthy walk can be accomplished with a few clicks and changing the music. Snow melts and we really have no where we have to go. I am blessed.

There is always hope.

 

Frustrations of Winter

Cabin fever, that's what I have. The knowledge that hundreds of thousands if not millions of other people are suffering from the affliction does not relieve the distress. I am so tired of being cold, even in the house, and being restricted in where and when I can walk outside that I am near to pulling my hair out. If cabin fever were the biggest problem the world had to face, it would indeed be a wonderful world.

Putting the frustrations of cabin fever aside, this last 12" of snow was beautiful to look at. We are looking at a real marsh mallow world. On the realistic side, the roads when we went out yesterday were not quite as cleared as they should have been. This leads me to wonder what they will be like when we get the next 6-10" tomorrow.

If my frustrations were manifesting as energy I could be spending a very productive winter giving the house a good cleaning. Instead, I feel tired and sleepy most of the time. It is a huge chore to cook and do my walk every day; after that, I have just enough energy to shower and become a lump on the sofa. The house is a dusty mess and laundry is never done. I do vow it's enough to depress a person if one had the energy to be depressed.

As for today, the sun is shining, it is a balmy 22 F and I am thinking about walking outside. Of course, there is always the treadmill. It doesn't matter where I do it as long as I walk for 1 hour every day.

There is always hope.