Hundred Days of Happiness - Week Eleven
It's been quite the week - hang in there everyone.
As I am no longer posting on Instagram and I find it difficult to post my daily day of happiness on BlueSky with such a short character limit, thus I am not writing my little daily entries. I tend to think “oh I can remember this” but honestly my memory is not that great. I need to find a better system for this next week because I don’t like sitting down and writing all in one day. At least, today (Sunday) I have the time as all of our plans this weekend were cancelled as both my guys got sick and so we stayed at home instead of multiple sleepovers and a spa date on Saturday and family ice skating on Sunday which would have been glorious as the weather is so lovely - cold crisp beautiful blue skies. But such is life and you roll with the punches and stay flexible and take care of each other.
This week has been a doozy for those following along with US Politics. Take care of yourself and each other, we’re going to need the community we create both offline and online.
Monday Jan 20 - Day 72. Not all days are going to be happy days and that’s okay. I debated taking this action of flying the flag upside down for many different reasons, but ultimately I thought it was important to show that I do not accept or like what is happening in the United States of America. It is quickly and overtly turning into a Christian Theocratic Fascist Oligarchic Regime. Boy that’s a mouthful, ugh. I could list a lot that has gone down the past week, but I don’t need to. We know it’s bad. I lit a candle in semi-prayer for all the people who are going to go suffer and to try and send positive vibes into the world - sort of feels like throwing starfish back into the ocean.1
I did take the step of donating to the “Peace Now” art campaign here in Utrecht so that I could get a large flag to fly. Once that is received, I will hang that flag instead of the upside down USA flag. It’s a bit of a more positive message.
I got a meme in a chat where we are supporting each other making healthy lifestyle changes and it made so much sense. Take small steps instead of huge overwhelming ones where we have a hard time even starting. So sticking with many small steps is my go to this year. So, Monday morning I took the positive continuous step of going swimming and once again swam over 1 kilometer. It was a good start to the day and the week.
Tuesday Jan 21 - Day 73. After a difficult day of processing whatever the f*ck is happening to the USA, I decided to work from bed much to the delight of our cat Pica. He was so happy to have me to snuggle up next to. When I was sick in bed from COVID fatigue last year, he was the happiest little kitty. I now mostly work at my desk, but I just wanted some comfort while trying to get work done and he was very happy to oblige. Good kitty! 😻
Wednesday Jan 22 – Day 74. I was supposed to lead a morning walk with other International Women around MaximaPark on Wednesday, but no one wanted to join, nor was I feeling up to it - my ankle is still giving me grief after falling on a run last August. So, I went for a bike ride instead. It’s not beautiful spring or summer day, but even the winter has its days of ethereal beauty and I’m looking for joy where ever I can grasp hold.
Thursday Jan 23 – Day 75. We are still receiving holiday greetings in the mail. It makes me warm and fuzzy inside to get these cards and messages. Thank you to everyone who took the time to send us their cards and life updates. It really means a lot to stay connected. The picture above is of an elf that was on the trees in my mother’s youth in England - so this elf is about 80 years old and still wraps himself around our family’s Christmas tree branches. It makes me happy to see the small traditions continue and makes me wonder what things our son will continue on with after I am gone. Like, I wonder if he will still eat peanut butter and bananas. It was a snack that my Mum made for me and I now make for him after school.
I hope to finally write up our 2024 family news which I started in December and haven’t had the time to finish. My goal is to send that out via email to friends and family before the end of January. It’s nice to have goals…. as Douglas Adams comically said:
Friday Jan 24 – Day 76. I went swimming again with my neighbor first thing after school drop off and once again met up with other friends as we were showering off the chlorine. I did another kilometer of swimming. We went there with our bikes and it was cold and rainy so went the short route both times - but very happy to get it done.
Our son spent the night with a friend as both DH and I had separate plans that evening. He had a bunch of coworkers over to our house for his pretty much by now world-renowned pizza. Yes, it is that good and he’s made it in several different countries now. While he bonded with his co-workers from bol I went off to Chi Chi to bond with other board members of the International Women’s Connect Utrecht by hitting golf balls out into the darkness, having drinks and a scrumptious dinner. Once a year we get our schedules together and go out and do something fun instead of talking about and organizing club business.
Saturday Jan 25 – Day 77. We unexpectedly spent a quiet day at home as both guys are poorly and spent the day resting in bed. I am happy our various plants keep on blooming and brightening up our room.
Sunday Jan 26 – Day 78. Another sick day for the guys unfortunately. But luckily it was gorgeous this morning, like super gorgeous. I left them to fend for themselves for over an hour while I walked the neighborhood and did errands - dropped off recycling and went grocery shopping for crackers and other bland foods. There is something going round - there are lots of things going round these days. But it’s no fun.
The walk was glorious though and later that afternoon I made the bread that DH normally makes and it turned out so pretty.
I have been thinking a lot about followers & leaders. And I have been listening a lot to "The 2nd Law" by Muse. Like. A. Lot. How you react to fear leads you either to a strong man telling you what to do or you focus on helping everyone you can. It takes strength to care for each other. Be strong. Their songs really capture our timeline too well right now. “Follow Me” was dedicated to his son Bingham and in that vein it’s wonderful and poignant - the song starts with his heartbeat. But, given the current political climate it can also be viewed a totally different way and follows their more dystopian viewpoints as expressed in the second song “Unsustainable”.
I just learned the “real story” of the starfish thrower and it’s beautifully written.
"The Star Thrower" (or "starfish story") is part of a 16-page essay of the same name by Loren Eiseley (1907–1977), published in 1969 in The Unexpected Universe. The Star Thrower is also the title of a 1978 anthology of Eiseley's works (including the essay), which he completed shortly before his death. - Wikipedia
“In a pool of sand and silt a starfish had thrust its arms up stiffly and was holding its body away from the stifling mud.
"It's still alive," I ventured.
"Yes," he said, and with a quick yet gentle movement he picked up the star and spun it over my head and far out into the sea. It sunk in a burst of spume, and the waters roared once more.
..."There are not many who come this far," I said, groping in a sudden embarrassment for words. "Do you collect?"
"Only like this," he said softly, gesturing amidst the wreckage of the shore. "And only for the living." He stooped again, oblivious of my curiosity, and skipped another star neatly across the water. "The stars," he said, "throw well. One can help them."
..."I do not collect," I said uncomfortably, the wind beating at my garments. "Neither the living nor the dead. I gave it up a long time ago. Death is the only successful collector."
— The Star Thrower, p. 172
Later, after some thoughts on our relationships to other animals and to the universe, the narrator returns to the beach:
..."On a point of land, I found the star thrower...I spoke once briefly. "I understand," I said. "Call me another thrower." Only then I allowed myself to think, He is not alone any longer. After us, there will be others...Perhaps far outward on the rim of space a genuine star was similarly seized and flung...For a moment, we cast on an infinite beach together beside an unknown hurler of suns... We had lost our way, I thought, but we had kept, some of us, the memory of the perfect circle of compassion from life to death and back to life again." (The Star Thrower, p.181)”
Star throwers. Love them. mxm