Hibernation Tendancies

I mentioned in my last post about spending time in my cosy corner of the sofa every evening enjoying our fire and knitting.  I have spent most of the last week sat there as I succumbed to some kind of virus just over a week ago.  I have done a lot of sleeping.  On a couple of those days my only movement was between my cosy corner of the sofa and bed.  I am up and about more now doing a little more now.  My outside time stopped for a few days and then rather than a walk I wrapped up and spent five minutes or so soaking up the winter sunshine that graced our door this week.  I did feel better for doing that.

We had to cancel our plans for some of the days this week, those plans that I could not make happen without others helping with transport.  Alice managed to get to her weekly home ed group as a kind mum offered to come out of her way to pick her up.  She goes to a friends for tea afterwards following by a canoe polo session in the local pool so she was really glad that she could still do all of that.  I had a very quiet afternoon working under a blanket on the sofa.  

I did some driving around on Wednesday my cuckoo clock day as I am in and out all day operating mum's taxi service.  After nearly a week of small amounts of movement it was a little weird to watch the world move by so fast from the car window as I drove to collect Cameron from his half day at college.  I remember that feeling during lockdown when I would only use the car once a week, the first time I drove much further took some getting used to.  It was Alice's turn to take up residence on the sofa, I honestly thought she was coming down with the same thing as me but she was only ill for a day, thankfully.  It did mean that the afternoon taxi service was stood down for this week, which I was thankful for.  Walking round the supermarket in the morning was a strange experience after nearly a week of being housebound.  It is easy to forget that there is a world going about its business when you are hibernating at home.  It all felt like far too much stimulation.

I thought it might mean that Thursday I could remain at home, but it was my husband's turn for some time on the sofa so I had to get Cameron to college and pick him up.  So more driving was needed.  I shelved plans to do the small independent food shops which we usually visit along with a piano lesson on a Thursday.  Alice although much better was not feeling up to a lesson this week.  The driving back and forth was quite enough for one day.  Our friends that we usually see in the afternoon has not happened yet this year what with one thing and another, it sometimes works that way but never for want of trying to make it happen.

Friday I managed the last bits of shopping, the drive to town was slowed by a funeral cortege.  It drove through most of the village with someone walking in front of the main car, I have not witnessed that for a while.  There were lots of people lining the streets I have no idea whose funeral it was, folks in my village tend to live here their entire lives, there are many families with several generations living here.  I will get Cameron to find out when he next does his paper round.  Once the car had left the village it drove at about twenty miles an hour to the point where I think it was turning to the crematorium.  Perhaps for a service there.  I was quite grateful for the slow speed, after the drive the day before it was good to be able to take it slower without someone behind trying to speed things up, the roads are a little narrow in places to allow for overtaking.

I really fancied a walk in the afternoon after the shopping and lunch were all done.  It was another sunny day and I was feeling like I was ready to actually walk rather than just spend some time outside soaking up the fresh air.  I mentioned it to my husband who was up for a stroll too except I then sat in a comfy chair and fell asleep!  We did have a short walk, my first for over a week, I was very slow and was ready to sit down when we got back home.  I fell asleep again when we returned!  My energy levels are not back to their usual levels yet, it would seem.  I haven't managed my morning yoga for over a week.  I am thinking I might start with something very gentle tomorrow.  I don't want to stiffen up completely.

I finally managed to order some yarn for a bigger project than knitting squares.  I have been debating the shade of grey to order.  It is hard to see the true colour when you are ordering online, I hope it is the shade I am after.  

We were supposed to be out and about all day on Sunday doing something that I ordinarily love doing so I was rather relieved when it was no longer necessary to run it and it has now been cancelled.  I wasn't particularly looking forward to a long day out.   

I even managed to do some de-cluttering from the warmth of my cosy spot on the sofa.  The blog reader that I have been using for some time had become increasingly unreliable.  On those rare occasions that I am able to sit down and read the other wonderful blogs I follow I would get a message telling me it was not possible to access the website to do that and I would need to come back later.  Somewhat frustrating.  I had halfheartedly migrated a few blogs to a different reader a few years ago which I was also using as a means of keeping track of a few news sites I also follow.  Time to migrate properly.  I was following over 100 blogs many of which were no longer posting.  I deleted some of these and left the rest on the old reader which I will check from time to time to see if they have posted again.  I now have a more manageable amount on the new website, all folks who post regularly for them, not all at the same time thankfully for me I would not be able to read all those in one day.  A different kind of de-cluttering but clearing up and tidying all the same and I no longer get a message telling me to come back and read later.

So often when I am unwell or recovering, I miss all the things I usually do but this time I have enjoyed being at home, at not having to go out anywhere.  I am really feeling the need to hibernate,  the pull of the comfort of a warm fire, a cosy blanket and a sofa to sink into.  I have been ill with a virus every month since October.  Every now and then I have a late Autumn and Winter like this one where I seem to catch everything that is going.  It is usually followed by many more without any illness.  It's as if I get them all at once to build immunity before another batch of viruses comes along.  Winter is about recharging so maybe it is my body's way of telling me that it needs me to slow down this year, to take my time to fully and properly rest before being ready for the busyness of the seasons to come.

What lies ahead?

The Colour of Autumn

The world is full of colour

Tis Autumn once again

And leaves of gold and crimson

Are lying in the lane

There are brown and yellow acorns

Berries and scarlet haws

Amber gorse and heather

Purple across the moors

Green apples in the orchard

Flushed by glowing sun

Mellow pears and brambles

Where coloured pheasants run.

Saturday is the Autumn Equinox, that special day of the year when the daylight and darkness is the same all over the world because the sun is directly over the equator.  It heralds the beginning of its  journey south and where I live in the Northern hemisphere, we will be getting less and less sun over the coming weeks, our days will get shorter and our nights longer.  It is the start of Autumn, the door way to Winter, a time for us to prepare for the change in the earth's energy.

This is a time to be thankful to the abundant earth and all the resources we harvest.  We take our Earth and the gifts it gives us so freely rather for granted, it can be hard to maintain a strong connection when we are so far removed from the means of production.  We need to do all we can to change the thoughts of those that think they can continue to take, take, take without heed to the consequences.

This is a time to be thankful for the rain which will fall in greater abundance in the coming weeks and months, however annoying and tiresome we find it, it is doing an important job replenishing the soil.

This is also a time to give thanks to all those wonderful people we have in our lives and who we spend time with, be it face to face or online, for their support and connection.  We are so lucky to live in countries where we have freedom to communicate with whomever we wish to and have the choice over how we do this.

As the summer fades away and autumn takes its place, so too does the light.  This is the time of diminishing light with days that can be gloomy, the clouds heavy with rain.  For many animals this is the start of a period of rest, either by hibernating or sleeping more and eating less.  It is also a period of rest for the earth, the leaves fall from the trees and plants as they preserve their energy within and enter their period of dormancy.  Would that we could sleep or remain dormant through this time, but our lives don't fit that pattern.

I know I have been guilty of resisting these dark days and of wanting the light and warmth to return as quickly as possible.  By embracing the darkness we too can preserve our energy, we too can slow down allowing ourselves to recharge, like the earth.

So lets look forward to the time of darkness and embrace it into our lives.  Lets be kind to ourselves, give ourselves permission to rest and do less.  Lets reclaim the balance within each of us which can get lost in the busyness of life in the warmer months.  As the circle of the year turns we will be able to head into Spring in six months time, recharged and bursting with energy.

Whilst we are in this time of resting and recharging we can reflect on our achievements throughout those recent warmer months, look back and think about all those amazing things we have done however big or small.  This is not a time to be starting big new projects but rather to think and plant seeds in our heads of where we would like to be, to go, to do in the future.

We can also use this time to let go of things, de-clutter your house and give away those things that are no longer of use to you.  De-clutter your minds and let go of ideas or values which no longer serve you, that are troubling you or causing you pain, listen to and trust your inner voice for guidance and wisdom. Find a way that works for you to release them, maybe writing them down and burning them.

I hope you will move into Autumn with more strength, embracing rather than resisting the dark.  I hope you will be kind and gentle to yourselves.  I hope you can find the time each day or week to rest and be still to enable your body to recharge and reclaim any balance lost.