working toward normal

Although I put in a few hours of work this weekend and have another couple to do right now, I had a really nice weekend. A good balance of productive and relaxing. It has been so many weeks since I had the energy to get much done that I had forgotten what normal feels like. Well, almost normal I guess. I had no idea a cold could possibly hang on this long. A friend of mine called tonight and bitched about how tired she is and how she’s never had a cold this long (since last week!). I kept saying, yeah, I know I’ve been sick since early December. I mean, she knows how many times we’ve all been to the doctor and that I am constantly trying not to complain about how bad I feel but she just kept going on and on. She was talking about how terrible it was to have a sore throat for four days and I had to say, yeah, seriously, I have had a sore throat for five weeks straight. I was consciously trying to be sympathetic and supportive and not compare my cold to hers but after months of Jason and Henry and I all being totally down and out I just couldn’t get over the bitching about a week long cold. She clearly didn’t get it and didn’t want to. Whatever. Rant complete.

So, I would have to say that the highlight of the weekend was getting out and doing some yard work. I cleaned up a bunch of dead plants and branches and weeded and planted a few new annuals or “color spots” as the gardening industry lamely calls them. It was pleasant and the results will make me feel good for weeks to come. The best part was that Henry came out and played around in the dirt with us this afternoon. He would have little to do with the play sand shovel I brought out for him and wanted a bigger trowel or to drag the rake around. He got dirty and had a great time. It gave me a little glimpse into what I hope this summer will be. More time in the back yard and going to the park and out on hikes. Obviously Henry won’t be doing much hiking on his own two feet but he is getting increasingly coordinated and able to navigate the world. And even better, he is getting pretty good at following instructions or at least understanding instructions- it’s a start. Last summer he still couldn’t walk and I worked a lot and generally felt sort of trapped. I vow to make this summer better in every way and today showed me that we are definitely on the right track. Strangely, it did snow several times last week in Portland so all we need now is some consistently better weather and we will be set.