November 4th
So, I got sucked into the U.S. election! I did very well leading up to it, but today, the phone was out at dinner and we were checking stats and looking up numbers and all the rest of it. It brings into sharp relief the importance of turning it off and how addictive it can be. It also highlights how much weight world affairs can have on our daily lives.
On the plus side, it was a politics lesson for my son and my Dad was engaged as well.
My decision to cut back teaching time paid off today as I was easily able to sub in half a day for a colleague who wasn’t feeling well. I had a great deal of fun with the kids! And I was able to support my teaching team. We don’t have a lot of leeway with additional teachers right now, so this was one thing I could offer to the Environment Centre as I scaled back my days. I couldn’t take Gabriel in and we had to juggle some care for him but it worked out well.
I was still able to take my Dad for a walk when I got home in the afternoon. This was the highlight of my day! The weather is glorious and I always feel strange when I have been able to be out all day, I am not able to provide this for my Dad. COVID makes this more difficult as there are places and people I would normally reach out to.
I also had a massage. I have some shoulder and leg issues which dogged me last year and this year I am determined to make sure that this problem gets resolved. I was doing quite well in the summer and focusing on stretches and on getting back into running. WIth taking too much on, this self-care came to a halt. Added to this, my regular massage therapist ended up injuring herself and taking a needed break from her practice. As an outdoor educator, I need to be taking care of myself, not the least because it’s too easy for the kids to outrun me! 🙂
Outside the Box: reflections on living and learning sustainably 