Looking Up
I don’t know if it is my e-mail or LJ, but I only got a couple of your comments in my e-mail. I just logged in and saw that there were a ton of other comments. Thank you, everyone! I think you are all right in several ways.
Yes, this winter is never ending. Living in the DC area for 8 years, I’ve gotten very used to mild winters and a lot of time spent outdoors. People here generally won’t go out if it’s below 50, but I just bundle the kids up and out we go. I find it more enjoyable than the muggy, buggy summers. This winter has been much too cold and snowy. Now that the snow is melted, we still can’t really go outside because it is a muddy mess. I almost fell on my butt when I checked the mail, the grassy area was so muddy and slippery. When 19 inches of snow melts over the course of just a few warm days, it leaves a lot of water.
Physical therapy has also caused a lot of this depression, I think. For the past month I’ve had absolutely ZERO me time. I drop Elsa off at preschool, head over to physical therapy, hang out with a bunch of weirdos while doing some seriously sexual looking moves for two hours, barely have time to run home and grab a bite to eat, then pick Elsa up again. No time to relax, work on a project, or enjoy those precious hours of freedom.
Plus, it means I wasn’t going to the gym, thus I was not getting my endorphins. I’ve discovered that I really can not function well if I am not getting those endorphins.
I am finally done with physical therapy, so hoping to get back on track with my free time and my gym usage. I have got to get this body moving!
Yesterday I somehow found some motivation (the toilet flooded, so I was very motivated to clean that up right away) and as long as I kept moving and didn’t sit down, I accomplished a lot and felt better. I just need to keep applying that lesson.
If I can’t get myself back on track by next Friday, I’m going to schedule a therapy appointment. I’ve never had therapy and it makes me nervous, but I really do not like feeling the way I’ve been feeling. If therapy is the kick in the pants I need, so be it. I’m open to the idea. . . just hoping I can get myself on track before then.
****Several Hours Later*****
Well, maybe it was just sunshine, fresh air and socialization that I needed. I spent about 3 hours at the park with the kids today, sitting on the park bench and talking to one of my best friends. What a difference it made!
The playground was not too muddy, but there were huge mud puddles in the grassy areas. It was 60 degrees out, so my friend and I let our three little ones (Elsa and her two boys) jump in the puddles for over an hour. You should have seen the side eye we were getting from other park people. It was mostly young families with their first babies barely walking, so they are not quite at the point of throwing up their hands and saying “oh well, that’s what plastic bags and washing machines are for.”
By lucky happenstance, our old neighbors showed up to do work on their house today. We took their daughter (Erik’s age) to the park with us and they had a great time playing together. Erik generally does much better with girls, which is kind of funny. He really is a gentle spirit, compared to many of the boys I know. He enjoys rough housing a little bit, but not like the boys around our neighborhood, who have no limits and leave bruises.