Talked to Mamacita for the first time in about two weeks. She was getting her PJs on for bed. I rode my bike out to an area that has a large pond and sat on the bench to chat with her on the phone. I was also enjoying the early evening sky, the red-winged blackbirds’ song, and the large turtle that ambled across the path. I told Mama about life of late: getting the stitches removed from beneath my eye today; getting my first massage in 15 fifteen months today; still limping around in THE BOOT but doing much better, and all the various trials of having what should, on the surface, be a simple bath and tile install. We talked about family road trips and her excitement about seeing her great-grandkids recently, who are on a road trip of their own with my niece and her husband. Mom said she was a little bored but that she appreciates every little chance she gets to go out with my sister. She admitted her memory wasn’t so good anymore, which wasn’t something she could talk about before. It’s so nice to hear the contentment in her voice now, despite the occasional boredom since activities are still in low gear because of covid.

Hubby went straight to bed after work, suffering terribly from his swollen foot, which he hobbles around on all day at work. He refuses to take time off. I hate seeing him like this; I made him ice it down, but the pain keeps him awake most of the night and no medication can take it away. I’m not yet adept at dealing with the suffering of others. To console him and me, I took some pictures of some of the garden flowers to enjoy whenever we want now.

As mentioned, I got my first massage since March 2020. I used to go monthly for back and hip issues and really felt a difference this past year without them. It was so nice to see my massage therapist again, although she’s been through hell and back, including losing her mother just three months ago. It will be nice to get regular treatment and return to yoga.

The online seminars I’ve been attending at work this past week wrapped up today. One of the senior managers for environmental health and safety gave some amazing closing remarks, which I’m going to base some upcoming self-care blogs on—yes, I’m going to kick start my self-care blogs again this summer! One thing she commented on was about all this talk of “returning to normal” after covid. “We can’t return to normal; we have to create something better,” she said, or something like it. I started blogging about this very idea last year and didn’t take if very far. But yes, we can’t go back to the way things were because the way things were wasn’t sustainable, for body, mind, or spirit. More on this in a different forum.

By the way, today is National Work From Home Day. I wonder if in the future it will morph into National Go To The Office Day. Speaking of which, tomorrow will be my first day back at the office!