Monday, February 06, 2023

un-Monday

It felt a bit like I was playing hooky today. 

After I dropped Big A off at the train station and my precious Bluey car off at the dealership for battery updates, L picked me up and we headed to Ted Black Woods for a hike. It was beautiful but super icy, so I was glad L had brought trekking poles for us to use... they saved me from wiping out so many times and made me feel like an all-weather champ. I'm wondering if I should put trekking poles on my otherwise empty birthday list...

I was back by 10:30 to hold meetings and work online for the day, so I got some stuff done. But I did spend nearly two hours stressing that the courtesy shuttle wouldn't pick me up in time for me to pick up Nu and then panicking when it didn't, so there was wasted time. The driver who finally picked me up in the nick of time was third-generation Lebanese and I enjoyed our talk about diasporas. (I asked him about the audio book he'd turned off when I got in--books are such a passport to conversation!)

Back home things fell into dinner, kid time, and class prep mode, but it still feels like an atypical Monday and a bit unsettling. It's not helping that I can't stop humming Young the Giant's "The Walk Home" with its lonely heartbreak and its messy homage to the wind telephone.

Pic: L's sneak pic of me using her poles at Ted Black Woods.

 

6 comments:

Nicole said...

YES YOU NEED TREKKING POLES! I love mine, and for me they are priceless when going DOWN steep inclines. They really help the knees and hips, and they are great for balance in the winter, and you need some.

I love when a random encounter with a stranger - like your driver - leads to a fascinating conversation!

Gillian said...

Nice song.

StephLove said...

Beth uses a walking stick sometimes when she walks in snow (which she has not had the opportunity to do since we were in WV over Christmas, she'd say if she was commenting instead of me).

Sarah said...

Love that your coat nips in at the waist-- I need to look for on
e with this shape. I also adore slipping out of my routine-- it makes the whole day feel fresh even if you eventually end up checking all the same boxes.

NGS said...

Yes to sticks! And YakTrax! All the things to save us from falling on the snow and ice!

maya said...

Noted, Nicole, StephLove, and NGS... I'm getting them poles!

Gillian--I really love that song right now.

Sarah--The "belt" is just a piece of grosgrain ribbon that I got with some long ago Anthro dress, so I can customize the cinch as needed. Having it nip in is really nice for keeping the warmth in too. Also, my must have for long coats is that they have buttons down the front in addition to zipper(s), much easier to throw on and go.

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