Summertime
And the living is easy.
George Gershwin
I’ve been away for a week for a cottage vacation. Wifey and I took early morning walks, the boys and I caught a lot of fish, we swam and paddled, heck, I even read a novel for the first time in years.
And, the living was easy.
I didn’t expect it to be easy. Five decades of accumulated damage to my lower back had me in mild discomfort, worried about canoes, kayaks and Muskoka chairs. Even the crappy rental cottage bed was a cause for concern.
In addition, I was coming out of my daily routine. I had no time, or place, to write my daily affirmations, or to do my morning meditation and yoga.
Normally, and by that I mean every single time thus far, when I come out of my routine, when I break my streaks, I have an emotional let down. I can fall into a depressive spiral, and even if I avoid the spiral, getting the routines going again is…challenging.
Complicating matters, a week’s vacation, leading into a long weekend, left my sleep routine trashed; going to bed late, and sleeping in.
Complicating matters even further, the weekend weather changes left me battling a migraine.
Complicating matters yet further, long weekends invariably lead to a long term family issue all but guaranteed to trigger my ADHD anger.
In short, a perfect shitstorm. A hurricane of poo almost guaranteed to knock me sideways, and make rebuilding my routine all but impossible.
Then, this morning 6:15 arrived. I got up, brushed my teeth, got dressed, went downstairs, wrote my first August affirmations letter, meditated and did my morning yoga.
i.e., I restarted my normal workday routine, built up over the last six months, as if there were no break in it, at all.
I look back over the decades I’ve struggled with undiagnosed mental health problems and you know what? Generally, the living wasn’t easy.
But, now that I’m dealing with my problems, attacking them head on, it’s getting a little better.
