91 DEGREES

The new heat sensors in the pool are being adjusted and today the water is 91 degrees. We are swimming very slowly lest we turn into soup. No high energy laps today, we are just playing at swimming. The face is the first thing to become overheated, then the chest. If I stand up (the pool is only 4 ft. deep) between laps, I can at least cool off the upper body. Just jogging up and down the length of the pool also keeps me cooler. Or floating on my back and kicking my legs. You do adjust to the temperature, however, and after about 15 minutes, I can swim crawl stroke at my regular snail's pace.

FESTIVAL OF TREES

In a weak moment I agreed to be responsible for decorating the tree representing the garden club. What fun! I gathered in hydrangeas (white) and sedum (cranberry colored). My faithful friend, Barbara, immediately offered to help and added more hydrangeas, pine cones and acorns. Hydrangeas dried nicely with a little help from my hair spray. The sedum faded somewhat but a little spray paint took care of that. We added lace paper doilies to set off the sedum. Beautiful! And so arrived the evening of trimming. Eggnog, hot cider, cookies! Fun, frolic, peace, love and joy, right? But alas, no: tumult, chaos, bodies pressing, ladders swinging by, temperatures rising; there are 14 people trimming the tree next to us? There is sweat pouring down my back, my legs are trying to tell me to sit down, my head will explode soon. My very smart friend has brought her pine cones and acorns all looped and ready to hang while I brought wire and scissors. What was I thinking? And how am I going to be able to pull joy from this occasion? Maybe from the many compliments on the beauty of our tree, the warm hug from a friend, the opportunity to go back and enjoy the trees when it is quieter.

PRACTICING HAPPINESS

It’s not humanly possible to be happy every minute - is it? After all, from birth we are presented with both pleasure and pain. But we can probably be happier more of the time than we are. Maybe happiness is an art that can be learned through practice, kind of like playing the piano. Lately, I have been trying to keep reminding myself throughout the day to be happy. I guess, it’s sort of like the tried and true recipe of counting your blessings. Only not exactly, because I am trying to be happy in the moment and within myself, not thinking about external blessings. Happiness does, however, seem to involve a certain physical component. Your heart is happier when your body is comfortable and unstressed, which brings up the expansive subject of health and wellness: eating healthily, sleeping well, exercising, meditating, doctoring and medicating. Keeping your heart and your body happy could be a full time job.

ERRANDS ON A SUNNY COLD DAY

Doing errands is sort of like slaying dragons: no parking space in front of the post office; convenient spots in front of the supermarket are taken; people are parked in front of entrances exuding noxious fumes; blocked in by a mail truck? But I'm trying to stay out of warrior mode

and enjoy the blessings of being alive. The girl at the cash register in Staples bounces on her toes as I fumble with my credit card, my "rewards card" and my purchases. She admits that her energy fades as the day goes on. This wonderful energy of youth which left me long ago. The blessing of today is that I finished what I set out to do and now I am back home where it is warm comfortable and restful.