Walked over three miles checking out exhibits and the library in Richmond.
I miss the pool.

Swim: 440 yards
Hot tub
Sauna: 15 minutes

Swim: 440 yards
Hot tub
Sauna: 15 minutes

I made a critically important discovery at the gym this evening, and I feel sort of dumb for not already knowing it: the family pool is about 6 degrees warmer than the lap pool. This is huge for me, since the chronic fatigue makes me more sensitive to cold than ever. The good news is that I jumped right in and swam a quarter mile before dipping in the hot tub.

Yes, dear readers, the swimming component of my routine is back, and it's all to the good. I'm only doing a quarter mile for now, trying to focus on re-establishing the habit before worrying about distance or time.

It's nice to be back, especially as the winter hours are upon us.

It's also really nice to have something g worthwhile to report on the fitness front. I feel as though I have been treading water and losing ground incrementally anyway all year.

Swim: 440 yards
Hot tub
Sauna: 15 minutes

Challenge 38: Fall

#Fall - into routine

• Daily:
  • Sleep Chronic Fatigue makes sleep elusive and fitful. Routine helps, so with that I'm hoping to #Fall back into a routine:
  • Sauna or hot bath 
  • Writing a few pages each day, hopefully finding something that can get worked on well enough to turn in for the submission due on November 1. 
  • Knitting It seems to soothe me. Knitting helps me feel as though I'm not a useless slug even when I can barely do anything physically. It's a bonus that Vivian has started knitting with me and we are enjoying planning a blanket for her bed. She's the absolute best, and I am completely blessed to have her in my life. 
• Weekly: 
  • Therapy because a week without it would be tragic.
  • Legal Notes and Log Updates The court date isn't until mid-December, but the weirdness has definitely ramped up and there are lots of little things to take care of and note along the way.
  • Editing The classmates' work will need to have three readings between Nov 1 and Nov 8, with written critiques due Nov. 8.  

Mantra: 

#Acceptance leads to #patience.

#Patience leads to #balance.

#Balance leads to #harmony.

#Harmony leads to #peace.

This challenge runs from Oct. 22 (I'm usually a week early since I don't believe that there is any such thing as a break) until Nov. 18, 2017

Challenge 37: Focus

#Focus 

• Sleep In the wake of the Relationship Strife, sleep has been elusive and fitful. I persist in the routine, though, and that helps. There are a lot of physical ailments coming about, and all together the symptoms seem to be pointing to a resurgence of chronic fatigue. I'm not happy about this, I can assure you.
• Legal The Big Honking Court Date is October 4 -- review of custody, visitation, support and divorce matters, all thrown in together. It would be lovely to have a resolution that is supportive of Vivian and her interests.I will be doing as much praying about this as I will paperwork. 
• Daily Sauna or hot bath 
• Daily Writing a few pages each day, hopefully finding something that can get worked on well enough to turn in for the submission due on October 1. 
• Weekly Therapy because a week without it would be tragic.
• Daily Craft Reading Even if it is only a page or three, this will help hold my writing and my headspace, making what I write that much better along the way.

#Acceptance leads to #patience.

#Patience leads to #balance.

#Balance leads to #harmony.

#Harmony leads to #peace.

This challenge runs from September 17-October 14, 2017

Challenge 36: Wow, August

Wow, August.

Wow. The end of the last challenge went through my life like a meat grinder. Mediation Workshops, threats of nuclear war, Personal Relationship Crumbling, Charlottesville. Thank goodness I have the NF community and the habits I've built with you guys over the past few years. One of the things that I know is that we will do it together, and we will go farther than we ever could have imagined. 

#Writing: After attending the Tinker Mountain Writers Workshop, I applied for and got accepted into the Queens University MFA in Creative writing. This means that I have to read and write every day. I started a scheduled structure, and stick to it mostly. I need to continue it so that it is a solid habit. First submission due: September 1. I also need to submit a piece to a contest or so, since it would be a wonderful thing to get a cash award, and the validation wouldn't be awful. But the writing is the thing. Feel free to check out my progress in my tracking spreadsheet (two tabs).  Also, I have a paper on American Exceptionalism to write that I got an extension on, and that needs to be swept up. #Writers Life

#Mediation certification: I took all the required training seminars last challenge, and will spend this challenge getting the required practicums -- observations and co-mediation -- taken care of. Hopefully the court certification will be finalized by the end of this challenge. #FingersCrossed. 

#Communication with Vivian. My daily calls with my daughter were suspended when we went to court on July 6. This hurts, and she was in tears over it. The appeal hearing was moved to the end of October (two challenges from now, I think, but maybe three -- this is how I measure things). I'm now limited to calling on Monday and Wednesday. I wrote her a Garden Report and included a garden word search along with the pictures I took and mailed it to her, and thus began a habit of mailing her something most days. Harvey mails some days too. It's our way to stay in touch now. I send a puzzle or coloring page or whathaveyou. And then I'm going to write my pen pal, who is in prison. #SnailMailRules

#Employment I interview for a position to teach GED classes at the regional jail. This resonates with me in ways that don't really make any sense, but in a very positive, contributory way. Part time. I'm thinking of it as a work-study component to the writing classes. #WishMeLuck

#Self-care 

• Nightly sleep I need to take care of myself by making certain I'm getting enough rest. If I'm worn out and exhausted, I can't be a good student / parent / friend. I need to be in bed no later than 9 p.m. 
• Daily Sauna or hot bath
• Meetings A few meetings a week, especially on Wednesday, then therapy on Thursday and then the Friends Meeting every Sunday.
• Water reestablish the habit.
• Walking. My steps fell to hell as the office job progressed. I went from a ten mile a day habit to barely a mile, and lost the habit of walking thirty minutes every day as well. I'm hoping to put it back. 
   

#FinancialPlanning with the attorney: Financial worry is soul-crushing. Bankruptcy filing in Monday, August 14. #Acceptance leads to #balance. #Balance leads to #harmony. #Harmony leads to #peace.