Deep into winter now. The holidays are packed up, Emily has returned to school, seeds have been ordered, and we continue to define our new normal. All good things. Fresh air feels amazing in tired lungs as I contemplate the number of layers worth removing in order for skin to meet sun. The brief rise in temperature had us thinking of sugaring, and how nice it will be to enter the season more set-up than ever before. That the investments we’ve made in both sweat and dollars have been worth it. We don’t make syrup commercially, but we do make about as much as any backyard operation can expect to make. It’s too soon though. The temperature dips and frosty air hangs tight. I hope for snow.
Sometime last winter I stopped using an alarm clock in the morning and I think it’s been one of the greatest things I’ve ever done for my health. I realized that with Emily settled into life at college, and me being self-employed, I’d finally reached a point in my adult life where I could truly craft my days. (Well, as much as any tax-paying citizen can, that is.) I’ve always been a morning person, and as a homeschool mom who also had paid work responsibilities, it wasn’t unusual for me to set my alarm for 3 or 4:00 in the morning in order to have a workday before the homeschool day began. I did this for years. It felt easy in my thirties, but then, most things felt easy in my thirties. Firmly planted in middle age now, I need to be kinder to myself. The truth is, I don’t sleep much longer than I did before, but allowing my body to rest until it feels fully rested seems like one of those wise mid-life things to do. And of course, not being woken each morning by the incessant beep-beep-beep of an electronic device is a godsend. Feels like I’m making deposits in the health bank each and every day. This is good because I just made a big withdrawal when some kind of crud made its way through our home; a given after the amount of close contact we’ve recently had with other people. But while Adam and Emily were both down for the count (fevers, body aches, the whole nine yards), I hung out at about a 3 or 4 on the sick-spectrum. Not too bad. Not great, and there was a day and a half where I felt like I was shouldering a hundred pound head, but overall my severity and duration was marginal compared to theirs. Because I got off easy, I’m able to analyze the why! Heh. My anecdotal conclusion is that in addition to chugging fire cider and nettles infusion and honey/ginger/lemon/ACV tonic and elecampane and spruce tip cough syrup – all with olympic effort, I came into the whole thing incredibly well-rested and balanced. Or, maybe it was just a matter of chance. Yeah, probably that. I shouldn’t be too punchy for fear of a karmic Mack flu-truck coming for me. Hopefully it would at least wait until daybreak finds my pillow, because alarm clocks – of any kind – are no longer welcome here.
I hope you're all feeling well… seems like a doozy of a winter out there. (Try turning off the alarm clock if possible!)
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Thank you sincerely for your thoughtful comments about my father. I want to let you know how much I appreciate you taking the time to reach out. xo