One of my friends I thought I had lost in January came up and talked to me in private on Monday to tell me they thought I needed space and to explain what happened that day another friend got involved in December or January. Then on Tuesday they walked out of work with me causing me to miss an appointment! Then on Wednesday I asked for their advice with another friend who we had discussed on Tuesday. That other friend tokd me they are so glad we are friends. I had debated texting them. It’s a long story but I’m so glad I did because we texted for a full hour. It has been a very good week relationally after feeling like I lost so much in this first part of the year. I hope your pain gets resolved soon!!!
Hi! I bought a copy of your E-book today. I gave my hard copy away via my little free library a while back, happy to have a chance to refer back to it again.
I am sorry you are in pain. Way to go getting this post written and out into the world despite that huge obstacle!
I loved reading all of this and esp the part about the adventure day! What a fun idea to just see where the road took you (with right and left guidance from the pre-teen!) I am glad it was a bonding day for the two of you. It reminded me of past experiences with children who were important to me.
I will share the link for the book in my community too. I love it and have reread it several times. I may have to pull the Adventure book of my shelf too!
Thank you for all of this, Tammy! Also it helped that I wrote most of this post on Wednesday... so only had to wrap-up the painful days. There were more stories I could've told. About food, about a dog I helped rescue, and about some changes I made to my phone. But my brain couldn't find the words for any of it. We do what we can, right! More next week!
I read this with a heating pad on my neck/shoulders. While the causes of my pain are different than yours, I feel for you Cait. Have you tried using trekking poles while hiking? I’ve found that they help my posture, especially with inclines.
This week I noticed that the ground cover of the nearby park is starting to turn green. Right now it’s only small patches poking through the brown, but I know it’s going to feel like everything turned green in a blink if I miss a day. Spring is here!
I have a heating pad specifically shaped to go over my neck/shoulders that is truly one of the best things I've bought in the last few years. So I'm glad you have something that helps your own pain (and, also sorry you have it). And I did use my poles! For the whole 5 hours! My best assumption is that the descent is what did me in... it was super steep, so I had to look down for the full hour it took me to get back to my car. I felt totally fine during it, and even the next day. But then Thursday... BAM. Flare up. So I dunno, friend! I'm annoyed! But just trying to roll with it... 🤪
The heating pad designed for the neck/shoulders is amazing. I hadn’t considered the always looking down as being part of the cause of flares, I’ve always attributed it to the body being tense trying to prevent a slip and fall. Most likely it’s a combination? I hope your current flair is short lived and that you find some relief/answers with next months appointment.
Could be a combo, for sure. I only ice for the first few days, after a flare-up... but am going to start alternating with heat today. Maybe right now. With my first morning cup of coffee. (Still finding the little joys!)
Hi Cait – I first came across your work in 2020 through Joshua Becker and picked up a hard copy of The Year of Less. Later, I gave it away after getting the Kindle version. I just love your work!
Oh Cait I am so sorry you are in pain. I live with chronic pain and have not been able to find a new physiotherapist as my old one has been off for two years now. I have to do lots of stay in the moment meditations and my own physio to get to the next moment. I have also found alot of relief with Holy Grail essential oil mixed in with a carrier cream. So intriguing that the conversation stopped around colonization. Sigh. What a wonderful adventure you had! Memories to last forever for both of you! This week I noticed how alike my daughter and I...more than usual! We went to a fundraising event for animals and were overcharged $30 but decided not to speak up due to the fact it was a fundraiser! Can't wait to see the hedgies! You need a hat with a light for your adventures outside though!🚨🚨🚨🦔🦔🦔🦔🥰🥰🥰🌲🌲🌲💖💖💖
I'm glad you've found some things that work for you, friend! And I do have a headlamp, I just don't need it very often! I usually put out the food before sunset, then hope to catch a glimpse from the kitchen ☺️ hopefully more sightings soon!
I love the way you respect the privacy of other people in your life. The younger people in my life post so many pictures of their children and I often think it is an invasion of their kids privacy. Once it's out there it's out there.
Thank you for these posts.
In the midst of chronic illness you constantly remind me to acknowledge the simple pleasures in my life. I'm too hard on myself and succumb to pressure more often than I'd like.
I'm so glad you're on sub stack. I love love love your writing. I hope you do write another book. I will add it to the two I already have. I'm headed over now to buy a Kindle version off of Amazon.
Well and I'm not a parent, so I can't say for sure what I'd do differently if I had kids of my own... but in general, I feel a really strong sense of responsibility to give TM + his family their right to privacy. Just because I do public-facing work doesn't automatically mean they need to be included in that. So yes, I am very intentional about keeping people's names and faces offline.
Thank you for your comment, Maureen, and for grabbing a Kindle version of the book while it was on sale! I really appreciate your support.
If you feel like elaborating, I was curious what you meant by this comment: "I'm too hard on myself and succumb to pressure more often than I'd like." What pressures are you talking about here? ❤️
For the three days before I read the post/email, every time I saw the title, Do You Want To Go On An Adventure? I would sing it in my head in the same tune as, Do You Want To Build A Snowman? 😆
No noticeable typos in this one, so no worries. Besides, I think we all devour them and just let our brain make the unconscious corrections. 😉
Oh friend, so sorry to hear you're in pain, and sending love that it heals faster than expected (whatever that really means). And how cool that you got to go on an adventure like that? It reminds me of the time my son and I got lost walking home from school because he was insistent he visited all "ant houses" he saw.
This week I am noticing spring. My new cats are pointing out all the birds and squirrels. My BIL visiting reminded me of the splendor of the deer in the yard I forget.
I’m so sorry about your neck. Hope it’s much better now. Your beautiful Lake District photos made me wonder if you’ve read You Are Here by David Nicholls.
One of my friends I thought I had lost in January came up and talked to me in private on Monday to tell me they thought I needed space and to explain what happened that day another friend got involved in December or January. Then on Tuesday they walked out of work with me causing me to miss an appointment! Then on Wednesday I asked for their advice with another friend who we had discussed on Tuesday. That other friend tokd me they are so glad we are friends. I had debated texting them. It’s a long story but I’m so glad I did because we texted for a full hour. It has been a very good week relationally after feeling like I lost so much in this first part of the year. I hope your pain gets resolved soon!!!
Hi! I bought a copy of your E-book today. I gave my hard copy away via my little free library a while back, happy to have a chance to refer back to it again.
Thank you so much, Sara! And I love the image of old copies hanging out in LFL's ☺️
I am sorry you are in pain. Way to go getting this post written and out into the world despite that huge obstacle!
I loved reading all of this and esp the part about the adventure day! What a fun idea to just see where the road took you (with right and left guidance from the pre-teen!) I am glad it was a bonding day for the two of you. It reminded me of past experiences with children who were important to me.
I will share the link for the book in my community too. I love it and have reread it several times. I may have to pull the Adventure book of my shelf too!
Thank you for this Substack. It is a joy.
Thank you for all of this, Tammy! Also it helped that I wrote most of this post on Wednesday... so only had to wrap-up the painful days. There were more stories I could've told. About food, about a dog I helped rescue, and about some changes I made to my phone. But my brain couldn't find the words for any of it. We do what we can, right! More next week!
I read this with a heating pad on my neck/shoulders. While the causes of my pain are different than yours, I feel for you Cait. Have you tried using trekking poles while hiking? I’ve found that they help my posture, especially with inclines.
This week I noticed that the ground cover of the nearby park is starting to turn green. Right now it’s only small patches poking through the brown, but I know it’s going to feel like everything turned green in a blink if I miss a day. Spring is here!
I have a heating pad specifically shaped to go over my neck/shoulders that is truly one of the best things I've bought in the last few years. So I'm glad you have something that helps your own pain (and, also sorry you have it). And I did use my poles! For the whole 5 hours! My best assumption is that the descent is what did me in... it was super steep, so I had to look down for the full hour it took me to get back to my car. I felt totally fine during it, and even the next day. But then Thursday... BAM. Flare up. So I dunno, friend! I'm annoyed! But just trying to roll with it... 🤪
The heating pad designed for the neck/shoulders is amazing. I hadn’t considered the always looking down as being part of the cause of flares, I’ve always attributed it to the body being tense trying to prevent a slip and fall. Most likely it’s a combination? I hope your current flair is short lived and that you find some relief/answers with next months appointment.
Could be a combo, for sure. I only ice for the first few days, after a flare-up... but am going to start alternating with heat today. Maybe right now. With my first morning cup of coffee. (Still finding the little joys!)
I'm sorry you are in pain but glad you are taking care of yourself.
Hi Cait – I first came across your work in 2020 through Joshua Becker and picked up a hard copy of The Year of Less. Later, I gave it away after getting the Kindle version. I just love your work!
Oh Cait I am so sorry you are in pain. I live with chronic pain and have not been able to find a new physiotherapist as my old one has been off for two years now. I have to do lots of stay in the moment meditations and my own physio to get to the next moment. I have also found alot of relief with Holy Grail essential oil mixed in with a carrier cream. So intriguing that the conversation stopped around colonization. Sigh. What a wonderful adventure you had! Memories to last forever for both of you! This week I noticed how alike my daughter and I...more than usual! We went to a fundraising event for animals and were overcharged $30 but decided not to speak up due to the fact it was a fundraiser! Can't wait to see the hedgies! You need a hat with a light for your adventures outside though!🚨🚨🚨🦔🦔🦔🦔🥰🥰🥰🌲🌲🌲💖💖💖
I'm glad you've found some things that work for you, friend! And I do have a headlamp, I just don't need it very often! I usually put out the food before sunset, then hope to catch a glimpse from the kitchen ☺️ hopefully more sightings soon!
I love the way you respect the privacy of other people in your life. The younger people in my life post so many pictures of their children and I often think it is an invasion of their kids privacy. Once it's out there it's out there.
Thank you for these posts.
In the midst of chronic illness you constantly remind me to acknowledge the simple pleasures in my life. I'm too hard on myself and succumb to pressure more often than I'd like.
I'm so glad you're on sub stack. I love love love your writing. I hope you do write another book. I will add it to the two I already have. I'm headed over now to buy a Kindle version off of Amazon.
Well and I'm not a parent, so I can't say for sure what I'd do differently if I had kids of my own... but in general, I feel a really strong sense of responsibility to give TM + his family their right to privacy. Just because I do public-facing work doesn't automatically mean they need to be included in that. So yes, I am very intentional about keeping people's names and faces offline.
Thank you for your comment, Maureen, and for grabbing a Kindle version of the book while it was on sale! I really appreciate your support.
If you feel like elaborating, I was curious what you meant by this comment: "I'm too hard on myself and succumb to pressure more often than I'd like." What pressures are you talking about here? ❤️
For the three days before I read the post/email, every time I saw the title, Do You Want To Go On An Adventure? I would sing it in my head in the same tune as, Do You Want To Build A Snowman? 😆
No noticeable typos in this one, so no worries. Besides, I think we all devour them and just let our brain make the unconscious corrections. 😉
Oh friend, so sorry to hear you're in pain, and sending love that it heals faster than expected (whatever that really means). And how cool that you got to go on an adventure like that? It reminds me of the time my son and I got lost walking home from school because he was insistent he visited all "ant houses" he saw.
This week I am noticing spring. My new cats are pointing out all the birds and squirrels. My BIL visiting reminded me of the splendor of the deer in the yard I forget.
Take care of yourself and your neck
I’m so sorry about your neck. Hope it’s much better now. Your beautiful Lake District photos made me wonder if you’ve read You Are Here by David Nicholls.