.
All the lovely phlox are in bloom alongside my driveway. Everything looks great.
In 2015 my goal was to attend at least one meeting or event a month, as a form of social outlet. I never hit that goal because I was taking care of my mother, and even when I had time to go to something, I was too tired, both physically and emotionally.
This year, I kept that same goal up on my sidebar and I've hit that goal out of the ballpark!
There is SO much to do in my hometown. In all my 20 years here, I mainly hit most of the fairs, festivals, craft shows and that sort of thing. I made it to the evening book club a few times but that was about it. I worked full time, and there were some jobs that entailed a very long commute. One job I had for 7 years involved a 75-minute commute which was really exhausting.
I'm doing much more in town now; keeping busy is helping me get past my mother's death, which is still on my mind when I am not doing anything. So it's best to keep busy.
The big reason I can start doing these things is because I still have the 2 work at home days I started when my mother was ill, and I wanted to see her during the day, during the week. Now that I'm no longer going to the nursing home on my lunch breaks or after work, I've found those 2 days at home open up so much extra time in my life. And not having to commute on those days means I also have more energy and interest in doing things right after work.
For most of my working life, work and the commute were so draining that I had little appetite for doing anything else during the week, the result being that I crammed everything I had to do, personal errands and stuff around the house, on the weekends.
This past week I went to a talk on mindfulness at the library. It was presented by a man who was very upfront about his struggle with depression and anxiety, which led him to mindfulness as a way of living more fully in the present. It was pretty interesting and gave me a little more insight into how to achieve it, because my mind is always going in a million directions.
There's a young man in town who has begun organizing volunteers to plant a grove of fruit trees along our new walking trails. No particular reason why, he just wants to do it, though i remember a quote I read where he said he just wants to make my town "as close to heaven on earth as possible."
There are a lot of wonderful things happening here, and many of them came about following the dark days of the 12/14 shootings.
The families of many of those children have formed different groups that pursue various things, depending on the special interests of their child. One of the little girls was a big animal lover, so there is a foundation setting about to establish a new animal sanctuary in town. It was also this group that sponsored the meeting I attended on how to care for your pet rabbit.
Next weekend is a traditional Irish music concert at the meeting house. I would love to go to this and am looking for someone to go with me.
Our town's forest association is busy eradicating invasive plants from some of their land holdings and I donated some of my perennials that I was selling to the forest association which they already planted in an open field they intend to turn into a wildflower meadow. It's on a main road so I will see it often.
We have several different garden clubs in town, another one of the groups I eventually want to get involved with. One of them is responsible for caring for all the little gardens that occupy our traffic triangles. I would like to see them establish a flower garden at a largish "traffic triangle" at the intersection of two of our paved walking trails. It would be so nice to see a pop of color amidst the woods. In any event, I'll be hitting their big spring plant sale next Saturday.
My dad wanted to see The Revenant (which I think will be a little bloody/violent) so I'm taking him to my town's single screen, $2 movie theater, which I think he'll enjoy. This is the 1930-built old town hall which is in the middle of a fund drive to replace the original balcony seats in the theater. I donated $150 and my employer will match it.
After the movie, we'll do a late lunch somewhere and I would like to run up the gallery to pick up the latest framed pieces. But first, this morning, I am going to yoga class, the church tag sale, the library (so I can get next months' book selection), WalMart, gas for the car, the pet food store and Lowes, for some veggie plants and maybe some lavender.
A lot of things to do, and I am really enjoying it.
Getting involved in my community
May 14th, 2016 at 11:45 am
May 14th, 2016 at 11:56 am 1463226960
May 14th, 2016 at 12:20 pm 1463228422
May 14th, 2016 at 01:05 pm 1463231103
May 14th, 2016 at 03:38 pm 1463240330
We too are fortunate to live in a city that supports volunteerism and endless array of community events. I sometimes grumble about taxes and horrid roadway gridlock but I don't resent a dime spent on participatory events.
May 14th, 2016 at 05:44 pm 1463247846
May 14th, 2016 at 06:45 pm 1463251534
May 14th, 2016 at 06:53 pm 1463252019
May 15th, 2016 at 06:19 pm 1463336350
Glad you are exploring and enjoying your hometown. Enjoy your time with your dad.
May 15th, 2016 at 09:53 pm 1463349229