Saturday, August 3, 2013

Saturday's R&R

Short and sweet..........just a half day of getting away from the work on our farm to attend and celebrate a local farmer friend's wedding with other friends. It was a mad rush getting there (we worked on the farm this morning) but we made it across the county to the ceremony at 1:30, spent the afternoon and evening with friends, met new friends, even met someone new who has professionally collaborated with my daughter-in-law in Seattle (wow-what a small world!).

I have been so tired, even my hands and my feet have felt tired from the non-stop and difficult garlic harvesting this year. When I finally realized yesterday that my brain was tired, I mean really slow on both hearing and comprehending, I set down all the multiple balls I have been juggling and took a nap in the afternoon. A real nap, right in the middle of the day! Not a 10 minute power nap, but a 2-hour nap. My word, this is unheard of! It did not rejuvenate me, but I was able to get up and do what still needed to be done.

I worked on the farm until nightfall last night, got up to get farm work done this morning, and as I said, then we dashed to the wedding. However, the time it took us to drive to our friend's beautiful farm plus being able to step out of our car into a place where I was not in charge of anything were two short and sweet events that allowed me to decompress, much like we did last year after we completed the garlic harvesting and then took time to enjoy being with our family over on Lake Michigan.

Wow - I was surprised. This afternoon was good for me, very good. Seriously! I'm somewhat stunned that such a short time has allowed my brain to calm down, clear, and reboot. We are not yet done with the garlic harvesting, but now I can see clear through to the end of harvesting, marketing, and planting (which is well into November). Before this afternoon, I was not sure I could make it that far or (true confession) even wanted to.

Lesson(s)???

"Diana, it's the Universe speaking to you again. Please slow down, but please, please, please remember it's also ok (in fact it's important!) to take a break once in a while, even on a regular basis. I'm so glad you noticed how good attending that wedding felt this afternoon. Please don't let today be the last break you take before the season is finally done." :) :)

"Ok, Universe. Diana here. You have my attention. I'm listening, and I'm feeling my strength and purpose flowing back to me. I can "do breaks". I think what made the difference today were the following: (1) a break with friends, (2) a break off the farm, and (3) a break with no responsibilities, which is maybe the same thing as a (4) break for fun. Maybe adding one more thing to the list would be (5) a break out of my dirty farmer clothes!" :) :)

I now have my 'home goal' (versus a farm goal) set for the winter. I want to get space finally unpacked and cleared out so I can have a room set aside for getting back to meditation and either tai chi or yoga.

Hello world, I'm back. Maybe you didn't realize I was 'gone' for a while. That's ok, as I'm not sure I realized it either until today. I may not blog any more often during the ultra-busy months ahead, but I'm ok.

Maybe I'm a slow learner, maybe I just want to do too much, maybe I just afraid of wasting the good fortune I have being a cancer survivor, I'm not sure really. However I'm back, back from a short and sweet break this afternoon, with a smile on my face that comes from a deep spot, a feeling of happiness and gratitude.

To my readers, please take breaks! I hope you learn from my mistakes, my mindlessness in contrast to mindfulness.

Onward and forward to the second half of the garlic season!

Cultivate your life - you are what you grow - inch by inch, row by row,

Diana Dyer, MS, RD

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You deserve a nap! Farming is hard work. I do not have a farm, but have a working potager that requires a lot of my attention. I do not have to harvest all the garlic you do, but after a day in the garden there are days I catch a nap! I do like that " garden tired" that I feel from working outside it is like no other!
robbie:-)
p.s. I am waiting for my second batch of basil to get tall enough to harvest for pesto. Pesto without fresh garlic from your garden is just not the same!