Back to Normal

Now, at last I'm getting back to "normal," though I need serious recharging time. A convention is very draining for me because I have to be "on" and around people so much, and at this convention I also have other responsibilities, plus I'm around friends who, for some odd reason, want to socialize with me on top of the convention stuff, and then I'm involved in the set-up and tear-down, which extends the convention. This year, I had that one day to sort of recharge before I had jury duty. At least there I don't have to be "on," but I'm surrounded by strangers (most of them idiots) in a situation that for me is very tense. Fortunately, I didn't have to teach choir last night. We had the children's worship service instead, and then instead of the church dinner we had a food truck night in the parking lot, kind of a community event. I was lucky that I got in line fairly early because I think the entire city and maybe some people from surrounding cities showed up. I did the line waiting to split an order of sliders with a friend who was working the free snow cone booth, since she didn't have time to wait. And then, of course, I had to get a snow cone.

So now I'm pretty much maxed out on human contact for a while, and I'm looking forward to a couple of days with zero obligations. I have lots of stuff to catch up on, but they're mostly quiet things. I'm planning to dive into planning this book I'm brainstorming.

In other news, I actually booked that vacation I've been talking about, and there's a cancellation penalty at the hotel, so I'm obligated. It's nothing too fancy or too far away. I just have a lake-view room with a balcony at a hotel on a lake. There are a few things to do in the surrounding area, but mostly my plans involve sitting on the balcony with a cup of tea (or maybe a glass of wine) and a book. I've never taken this kind of vacation before. My travel is usually more of the "see all the things!" variety. This is more of a "just be in a pretty place that's not home" trip. We'll see how that goes.

Meanwhile, I may have found the perfect walking shoes for me. Most shoes designed for serious walking are based around support, but that means they're very stiff, and that doesn't work well with my feet, so I end up with blisters. Last week, I saw a newspaper ad for a shoe store with a sale on a particular kind of shoe that sounded just right for me, so I went out and tried them on and bought them. The sole almost looks like cleats, and it's essentially jointed between each cleat so that the sole is flexible in every direction. I can stand on my toes and the shoe moves entirely with me, with no rubbing against my heels. Those cleat thingies are really soft and springy, and then the insole of the shoe is made of the same material used in yoga mats. It's almost like walking on a cloud. I wore them this weekend while running around the hotel doing set-up, and my feet and knees hurt a lot less than they usually do after that sort of thing. I can't wait to try them out for a proper walk.

Although I have a book to work on this fall, I'm really going to try to aim for some sort of work/life balance instead of falling into a book and forgetting to live. This is my favorite time of year and I want to enjoy it. The vacation will be part of that. I'm also going to make it a priority to do the things around here that I always say I want to do. Like, I'm even contemplating hitting the farmer's market on Saturday and then going on the town's garden tour. It's a focus on xeriscaping, and someone has done a Texas-style "English garden" that I want to see because it's what I have in mind for doing when I have a house with a yard that I'm responsible for (in the current house, there are lawn elves that deal with the grounds, and I'm not allowed to alter them).

Or I may just enjoy hanging out at home and not having anywhere I need to go.