highs and moderate lows v1

Summer of 2021, I became a people leader at work (now that’s a story for another time), and in my desperation to be people-y, I started ending our late-week check-ins with “highs and moderate* lows”**of the week

As we got to know each other and have more to talk about, H&MLs only pop up randomly, but I thought I’d resurrect them here. 

moderate low.  I missed my walks this week (well, a more accurate statement is that I didn’t prioritize them enough). I am a significantly happier person when I move my body on a regular basis, and as someone on this awkward comeback from a neck/back/nerve/rotator cuff nightmare, I am also physically much happier when I move my body on a regular basis. It’s so easy to get caught up in work, or getting ready for the holidays, or just sitting down when there’s a moment of quiet, but I need to do the work on this next week

high. I took the dog out at night in the cold and the rain, and she slipped her leash and started happily running away from me all around the backyard. Bella is a “Morkie” (Maltese + Yorkie) that we took in from my mother when her health went downhill a few years ago. It’s been a long road with this dog - working through her anxiety and fear of the outside and fear of people and food aggression… But, standing in the damp cold and watching her dash about and scamper off when I tried to get her was such an earned moment of joy (that became even better when I figured out if I shook her treat jar, she would come back up the stairs into the house!).

moderate low. I had to help my daughter with her math homework the other night, and I just was not the right person in that moment to do it. I’ve always got through math on a hope and a dream and trying to help makes me worse at it. She was doing partial quotients, which I had to Google (thank you, Professor Google), but couldn’t translate the explanation enough for the problems she was trying to do. We took an emotional lap around the house and came back and got it done - a huge win - but moments like this always knock me back a little (everyone always thought I’d teach; a failed side gig as a community college English professor before having my girl made me realize my brain has trouble slowing down to let others catch up without a lot of effort from me).

high.  I started this blog? It seems so small, but just writing and having a voice and putting some energy towards it has really made me feel like myself.

*”moderate” because I was overthinking that I someone would think I was asking them to pour their heart out on video call and share something that hurt their soul - when I was definitely not doing that. 

**always done in the reverse order (end on a high)