Hope Anchors The Soul

Hello Friends,

Recently I saw the title of this blog letter on a t-shirt.  Hope Anchors the Soul.  I was thinking about this concept today as I stood in beautiful park next to the river where the local Memorial Day service was taking place.  It made me wonder.  If hope anchors the soul, then what anchors hope?

I've always felt like moving here was/is the right decision for me.  I love the warm weather, the laid back lifestyle and friendlier atmosphere.  However, having been here over a year I feel like there's really nothing that anchors me.  This is sort of a strange concept to me as I came from a place where I have five generations buried in the local cemetery.  My roots run deep there.

Here, I live in an apartment.  It is adequate.  It meets my basic needs.  I have my stuff in it but it's not mine to do as I please with.  I have my job but that too feels transient, either within the company or in a whole new direction.  And with a schedule that varies each week in days and shifts worked, it would be hard to volunteer or join some kind of group that meets on a regular basis.  Since I'm not the type to make friends quickly, that has also taken some time to begin laying down those roots.

So as I stood there at the Memorial Day service pondering all this, the mayor did something unusual.  He said that he wanted to do what he has participated in when he's attended events at the Legion.  He asked everyone in attendance to all join hands while he played a recording of Lee Greenwood's song God Bless the USA.  And there Hope was, hand in hand, anchored in a sea of strangers.  It was in that moment that I realized what really anchors us is perhaps not just the big things in life but a series of small things.  And that a sense of belonging and community can be found anywhere as long as we're willing to look for and see it.

"There ain't no doubt I love this land, God bless the USA."  And God bless everyone for that matter.

Until next time...
Peace & Love,
Hope

I'm Still Here!

Dear Blog Readers,

Last night I was reminded again that I haven't updated my blog lately.  That statement was followed by that person saying, and I can just imagine what it would look like if you did.  Meaning that I just haven't been quite myself lately. 

Things at work continue to be a struggle and I find it weighing on me every time I go there.  In addition to my ever changing schedule, I find it difficult to navigate the continual lack of structure.  We all have to find our way through the chaos from time to time, and I'm willing to work through my share, however in my current work environment chaos reigns supreme and I feel like I'm constantly walking on egg shells.

Thankfully the past few days I have had some normalcy.  I worked a 7-3 shift on Thursday and was off on Friday so Jak and I were able to go for our evening walks on the beach.  One of the nights we ended up walking with a couple that have two dogs.  Though we often see them there, this was the first time we were all going in the same direction at the same time.  They are nice people and I enjoyed having the company.  It also made me realize that my crazy schedule puts limits on the amount of social contact I get outside of work.  So, I'm applying for other jobs, looking into perhaps transferring to another store and really just trying to be clearer with myself about what I need from a job to at least feel human.

It's hard to believe Memorial Day weekend is already upon us.  The beaches here will be busy this weekend with highs in the 90's predicted.  (I have the front door open for Jak as I write this but that won't last long.)  Here are some pictures I took earlier this week.  I think they will be the preferred modes of transportation around here this weekend.  I had to take the second picture three times in order to get the Jolly Roger flag flying.

Tomorrow I'm running a 5K in the morning and working in the evening.  For now, I'm jumping in the shower and heading off to an estate sale.  Whatever your weekend plans are, be safe, have fun, stay awesome and remember our Veterans.

Until next time...
Peace & Love,
Hope

   

Just Do It!

Dear Peeps,

As Eleanor Roosevelt once said...

Recently I saw this quote and during my morning jog I decided to follow her advice.  And so after being petrified of it when I was little, today I jogged across this bridge.  And back.

Though the drawbridge is up in this picture, it was not up at the time I crossed it.  To be honest, that was what scared me so much about it when I was a kid, that it would go up while I walking over it.  For that reason until this day I hadn't ever walked on the actual drawbridge part of it.

Life has been a bit consuming lately.  At work I am still trying balance who I am with who I need to be to get the job done.  I am finding that this requires self care and ultimately setting boundaries. I think with boundaries comes the illusion that you only have to set them once and be done with it.  In reality people like to push back against them so there is a lot of repetition and consistency involved in being a good boundary setter.

The weather is in the 80's most days now and I am totally fine with that.  After spending most of the winter telling Jak he couldn't get his feet wet when we walked on the beach, the ban has finally been lifted.  Jak is not a fan of getting the salt water rinsed off after our walk and in the cooler months, he acted like the hose water was a torture device.  So with consistently warmer air temps, the hose isn't quite so bad and he is once again allowed to wade in the water to his heart's content.

It's almost time for me to get ready for work so I'll bring this to a close.  I know my posts have been few lately and I promise to make an effort to write more. 

Until next time...
Peace & Love,
Hope

To Get From Here To There

Hello Friends,

I was reminded last night that I haven't updated my blog lately.  This was not a fact that had gone unnoticed by me.  The thing is I just haven't felt inspired to write this week.  And although there is that popular term, fake it till you make it, for me when it comes to writing it's got to be genuine.

Last evening some rain and thunder showers rolled through about the time I would take Jak to the dog beach and I found myself home in the 5pm-7pm time frame.  It dawned on me that between work and the dog beach I am so rarely home at that time and it just felt so good to be.  This is representative of a crossroads that I find myself at right now.  My ever changing schedule at work continues to weigh on me and I find myself longing for the days of a Monday through Friday, 9-5 work week.  The lease on my apartment is up in June and though I'm not unhappy here (double negative, yikes!), I also wouldn't say I love it.  If I could find a place in a residential setting where I was comfortable to walk Jak any time of day I think it would be a much better scenario. 

So where does all this leave me, the crossroads, "two roads diverged in a yellow wood", well all I can do is take steps toward making changes.  I am once again on the job hunt, I've already applied for two this week.  I have set some boundaries at work around my schedule which should help some short term.  I am also looking everyday for apartments.  On the days when I can sneak in a run, I've been jogging through neighborhoods where I think I would like to live, hoping to come across a "For Rent" sign that wasn't listed on Craig's List or in the Pennysaver where they would love to have a Golden Retriever.

In the meantime, I will continue on with my job and where I am living knowing that the only way to get from here to there is taking steps, no matter how big or small.  One day at a time, one foot in front of the other.

Until next time...
Peace & Love,
Hope