A Sort of Restful Day

Today has been a day of rest for me. Sort of! I still managed seventy minutes of physical activity, which is about fifty minutes more than what I was doing just five and a half weeks ago. My idea of a “day of rest” has definitely changed.

Earlier this year, a restful day meant all my cleaning was done for the week and I didn’t have to leave the house for errands. Now that we have a ten-month-old curious and busy grandson, I think of rest as the days I’m not trying to keep up with him. I don’t remember babies taking this much energy - more likely, I just had more energy when Megan was a baby. The benefit is that I love spending the time with him and keeping up with him motivates me me to improve my physical capacity.

Pan and Sylvie, our grandpuppies, did pretty well on their first night with us. Sylvie sleeps in a crate since, as a puppy, she can still find things to get into when left unattended. Pan slept with Alto (our cat) and us. Joe said Pan was on the bed, but I was so tired I didn’t even notice. Alto doesn’t like dogs, but he and Pan lived together for years before Alto became our cat. Sylvie, on the other hand, sees Alto as, in my friend Kara’s words, “a live snack.”

I had a nice virtual chat with Kara today. Catching up with friends is one of my favorite things. I was scheduled to chat with Jen and Elizabeth tomorrow, but Jen had to reschedule after her mom passed away last week. I’ve never met her mom, Joyce, but I’m grateful she brought her daughters into the world. Jen and Kim are both lovely human beings in their own right.

Later this afternoon, I drove to Megan’s house to roll her garbage can to the curb for pickup and to remove a marketing door hanger that had been setting off her Ring camera all day. When I got back home, I took the dogs out one at a time. They’re large and strong, and I’m still getting used to handling them. I worry that if my neighbor brings her small dog out while I have Sylvie, there might be some chaos. Marylee is a lovely person, but I doubt she’d forgive me if Sylvie decided her little dog looked like a snack.

While I made dinner this evening, Sylvie sat on the kitchen floor and watched me chop vegetables for a hearty vegetable beef soup. She tilted her head, watching me as though she was studying my technique. Megan would probably say Sylvie was just waiting for me to drop something for her to “clean up.”

My thoughts are a bit rambling today, but hopefully still coherent.

Have a restful evening.