February doldrums

I think I'm in the depth of the February doldrums.  Winter has been here for a while, but the sun is slowly giving us little tastes of what soon will be.  I'm beginning to feel the hope of spring, but the also the frustration of still knowing that there is much time to wait.

The days are steadily stretching.  It's been a little light out if I don't leave for work earlier than 7.  And after work, the sun seems to be sticking around just a little longer.  But not quite long enough.  I still feel as though I'm stuck in the dark days of winter when I leave for work in the dark, get home in the dark, and never see daylight from my windowless classroom.

I'm counting down the days until March 10th...

Ok...I was going to provide a "do-it-yourself" task here to figure out the significance of March 10th, but I did a little Google pre-search to see what you'd end up with, and here's what I got:

Number 3 is my favorite.  The International Day of Awesomeness
because it is Chuck Norris's birthday.  Did you know that Chuck Norris
has never done a marathon?  That makes me super awesome.

But none of those reasons are why I'm looking forward to March 10th.  March 10th is, in fact, the start of daylight savings time!  Yay, daylight!  I've so missed you.  Even if you're gloomy, covered in clouds, and blurred by the rain, I find you better than perpetual darkness.  Especially after the events of last week.

Today, as I contemplated the topic of this overdue post, I wanted to write about my February doldrums.  And my constant displeasure with constant illness.  And my frustration with being very tired most of the time.  And my unfailing uneasiness while out of doors at night.  And my seemingly strained patience level with my talkative 1st graders.  And my annoyance at substitute teachers that keep cancelling my upcoming 4-day job.   And my decision that internet dating totally sucks (yeah, probably wouldn't have written about that anyways, but it totally does--and I've made that decision a few times before but somehow get sucked back into it).  And my displeasure at the prospect of a tiring busy day tomorrow when I'm already feeling tired and over-spent.

And all the other little frustrations of everyday life that can cause the doldrums.

But wallowing in my doldrums will not help anyone, including myself.  So I'm going to flip this Negative Nelly attitude on it's head and force a "Thankful Things Thursday" out of this brain, Ali on the Run style.  Because I have a whole lot to be thankful for, big and small.  And a few little doldrums won't make me forget that.

So today, here's what I'm thankful for:

I'm thankful for the little taste of daylight I got this week.  I had Monday and Tuesday off for "Midwinter Break" and the weather in Seattle was beautiful.  My favorite thing to do when I have a day off is to go to the zoo.  I live within 5 minute's walking distance of the zoo and I am a member, which I means I get for free as often as I want.  So on Monday, I got to hang out with my favorite zoo buddies in the great day-lit outdoors with wild animals.

Are these zoo buddies or wild animals?  I don't know.  It's apparently the best
way to see the hidden Arctic Fox.  And a little test--how long will it take Ryan
and David to read the blog and get mad at me for posting this picture on the
internet??

I'm thankful Lucy and I had some daytime walks.  The vast majority of our walks in the past few months have been in the dark, both morning and night.  So some carefree daylight walks through the neighborhood park on my days off were just what we needed.  

Then she stared at me exasperatedly from "her"end of the
couch as I tried to stretch my legs out.  Apparently I'm not
allowed on that end of the couch anymore.  But she gets
to come on my side all she wants.  I am not complaining.
I am thankful.

I'm starting to really like my new exercise outlets.  I did an hour-long class on my Yoga Studio app on Sunday and liked it way better than the 30 minute class I've been doing the past couple weeks.  More time in the stretches, more relaxation, and a little more time to feel like my body is warming up to the moves.  And Boot Camp is kicking my butt in a good way every week.  I'm starting to see muscles where I haven't before.

I'm taking it easy with the running and am ok with it.  It's been a long time since my lungs and sinuses have felt normal.  And now my ears are beginning to plug and pop with some regularity too.  So when I have a week like this week where I have only gotten 2 runs in so far, I'm learning to be ok with it.  I need to figure out how to get healthy first.  And I'm thankful for my ability to try to make that a priority over running without freaking out.

I'm thankful for heat.  Heat blasting out of car vents after a cold day in the windowless classroom.  Heat turned up just a little too high in my small apartment.  Heat from a steamy shower after a cold rainy run.  Body heat from the exasperated but tolerant puppy on the other end of the couch keeping my toes warm.  Heat from a fuzzy blanket or down comforter.  Heat in the winter time is the best feeling ever, especially after you've been cold.

I'm thankful for red wine.  It's tasty.  It's great in the winter.  It's perfect to pair with a fuzzy blanket, cozy couch, puppy toe-warmer, and idea-filled writer's brain.

I'm thankful that tomorrow is Friday again.  I've only worked 2 days so far this week.  And tomorrow is Friday.  That is a great feeling.

I'm thankful I'm finally off the waiting list for the Insurgent audiobook at the library.  It is downloaded to my phone and waiting to be listened to.  Tris and Tobias will have my rapt attention for a few days.

I'm thankful for all the kind, caring, worried messages after last week's post.  Hearing how badly you all want me to stay safe and be smart makes me feel all warm and fuzzy from the inside out.  And hearing that my opinion helped voice the opinions of others was reassuring as well.

I'm thankful for Team in Training.  Because we're doing everything we can to make this come true:

Someday is today.

I'm thankful for my sister, whose birthday is today.  Happy Birthday big sis!!  I'm sending you hugs of love that span all the oceans and lands that separate us.  Lucy sends a slobbery kiss too.

I was looking for a fun kitty-themed birthday picture for cat-lover sister.
I found this instead.  I think it's totally birthday-worthy.

Yep, being thankful really does work.  February doldrums are faded for now and I'm am reminded of just how awesome my life really is.  I have very little to complain about.

Come March 10th, I'll be celebrating Chuck Norris's International Day of Awesomeness harder than Chuck Norris.  Life is good.