Buried and Battered Democracy is Alive in Us in Everyday Ramblings

Yes, I am still seeing homeless encampments and people sleeping rough out everywhere but on Saturday I saw my first blooming camellia of the year. We are only four weeks away from early crocuses!

I’ve lived here long enough and have been out and about locally enough to know where to look but I admit that I am chuffed by this photo, the light and the perfection of the flower. Because the leaves are super shiny and reflective getting decent shots of living camellia flowers is a challenge so I get a tiny little job well done here.

My other big win this last week was getting my derriere to the gym on Thursday in the blustery cold rain after a tiring and somewhat frustrating day at work. I employed all my resources to do it…

Laying out my clothes and lock and hand towel and headphones in advance.

Saying hello, oh nice to see you, please come along for the ride to the voice in my head that was trying oh so hard to convince me that what I wanted to do was watch Netflix and eat chocolate.

(I did watch Netflix yesterday morning, the interview with David Letterman and Barrack Obama, which is just awesome and good for the soul.)

Saying over and over to myself as I was feeding the cats and bringing in the bird feeders and closing blinds after work, that this is what I do, I am a person who goes to the gym.

Once I was at the gym (it is just over a 20 minute walk) I was fine. I did allow myself to get on the elliptical while the two rowing machines were occupied (the elliptical is a treat for me, I love it) but I did row after.

I amused myself by looking for the overly tanned lady with the thin legs.

She was a bit subdued but there.

I went to the gym again on Saturday but that is not a problem at all because it feels like a treat. I get up later than I needed to when going to Weight Watchers and I don’t need to go across town on a bus full of folks that have been in the Emergency Room all night, which I was doing before. As you can imagine that bus is a bit…umm…scenic.

The gym is much less crowded on Saturday mornings and best of all at the end of it I know I am going to see Mrs. Sherlock and my poodle friend Frida.

Mrs. Sherlock often lets Frida off leash when she sees me, and much enthusiastic running and horsing around ensues. It is a hoot. I so hope we can still walk when she is taking care of her husband after his procedures.

I think we can figure out a way to make it work, as both of us are seriously aware of the difficulties caregivers encounter in terms of taking care of themselves. But another option is for me to walk over and take Frida out myself when it gets difficult for Mrs. Sherlock to get away.

Yesterday afternoon Kes and Most Honorable came by. They had been up having brunch with Kes’s best friend and were relaxed and we just hung out and the cats got a lot of attention.

Most Honorable let me try out these simple movements I am going to teach this week as we focus on calming the nervous system by releasing the muscles of the face and jaw and gently moving the neck.

As I am having stage two surgery on my last implant this coming Friday afternoon I am teaching these relaxation techniques for somewhat selfish reasons but also because everybody is worn out by the news and the assaultive nature of winter in general.

But from the cheerful robins I saw bathing in a puddle the other day to the light bouncing off the beautiful early flower above…I can feel the energy of spring thrumming under everything here, readying itself for that incredible unfolding of energy and life force we experience in our own little weather cycle bubble each year.