Dog Days Of Summer

This is literally me every night. Fan in my face. Hot flashes and night sweats are no joke!

I'm 53 and until recently my ENTIRE knowledge of menopause was comprised of funny stereotypes about women having hot flashes. My mother never talked about her experience, none of my friends brought it up, and my doctors never mentioned it might be the cause of all of my symptoms. It just wasn't discussed. Like ever. (Google "menopause depicted in the movies" and see how many you find)

This isn't a menopause post (maybe another time?) but if you're approaching midlife, do your research, find a new doctor if you need to, and seek out other women who are talking about it!

I digress! This is a post about glorious SUMMAH is it not?

I reeeeeally want to love summer. I do. 

But as my friend Marcy said in her last newsletter, "the hot weather actually feels like I'm strolling through a pizza oven."

Yep.

But this is the Summer of the Bike™ baby!

I should mention that I have not ridden a bike since my daughter was little, about 15 years ago and it turns out I was much more coordinated back then. Sometimes re-learning to ride a bike is not always as easy as, um, "riding a bike" lol. 

In my line of work I'm pretty sedentary and as I get older I'm feeling less and less agile. My balance isn't that great and my joints hurt. So getting back on that bike again wasn't a breeze like I thought it would be. 

And that worried me.

So not to be totally dramatic but I'm kinda feeling like I'm at a crossroads in my life. Like if I'm going to be the version of myself that I envision: more active, leaving my house more often lol, then I better get off the couch and hop to it. Am I going to continue on my path and joke about how I'm getting old and can barely get up a couple flights of stairs without gasping for air or am I going to commit to getting stronger and moving my body more?

(I feel like I should clarify in case anyone thinks this is about being skinnier. For me this is about being stronger, more active, and able to move with less pain.)

An early morning bike ride before it heats up is good medicine for body and soul! I tell you when I'm nearing 80 I want to be like my dad and Karey (above): always on the road, camping in their van, out in a kayak or on their bikes. #goals

This summer is also The Summer Of Letting Your Garden Get Taken Over By Rabbits, Mice and Chipmunks™

Having two giant dogs does not seem to deter these rabbits from coming in and HAVING THEIR BABIES inside the garden. (Insert exasperated face palm emoji.)

I feel like I am a walking face palm emoji these days. Seriously. The hotter it gets and the crazier the world gets, the more I love my early mornings in the garden. I love the quiet peacefulness before the heat and the onslaught of noise arrive. 

Before news headlines.

Before supreme court decisions.

Before the texts about my "unpaid toll balance."

Before emails suggesting an "amazing opportunity" for collaboration with your vitamin supplement company. 

Before the weight of the world settles squarely on my shoulders.

It's not a new concept to think of gardening as a soul-nurturing, anxiety-reducing practice. But digging a little deeper, (see what I did there) there’s also comfort in watching something grow because of your care. 

When we tend to a small patch of life, we affirm values that feel increasingly endangered: patience, care, tenderness.  The act of gently planting a seed and protecting it as it grows becomes a symbolic gesture. It says, I still believe in nurturing. I still believe in gentleness.

When the world feels increasingly callous and cruel and acts of dehumanization are met with applause, gardening can feel like an act of quiet resistance. 

Of course gardening is not my sole form of activism but each time I return to the soil, I'm reminded that life continues—and that beauty and goodness can still be cultivated. 

And when I'm not stress gardening I'm stress baking. :)

In Twin Peaks David Lynch declared he was going to write "an epic poem about this gorgeous pie!" so I plan on writing an epic poem about this gorgeous banana bread.

Behold.

I love the comfort, the reliability, the familiarity of a tried and true recipe. I've been making this banana bread for many years and it feeds my soul to wrap up a loaf and send it to my daughter, all the way in Georgia, for her birthday. A little piece of home. 

I hope you are well my friends, taking care of yourself and each other. xoxo Lori