I didn’t get the best night of sleep. My mind wouldn’t slow down. I felt like a race car with bicycle brakes. So I utilized the help of breathing exercises, eventually finding a resolve. Unfortunately I was left feeling slugish the remainder of the day. I did manage to grab a few hours of sleep before my day started with me leaving the house shortly after eight in the morning. Good thing I didn’t have to start pre dawn or I might not have made it. As I was driving down the driveway to leave I noticed the clearness held by the atmohpere. There were no clouds hanging low or high and the haze that has been on the horizon is nonexistent. This means I can see the volcano. It sure is a pretty site. A little unnerving as well, but it’s all part of living in the ring of fire. The chances of it doing the volcano thing are slim so I dno’t give it a large amount of attention with my thoughts. I do however spend some time observing it with my eyes. With one last glance it’s out the driveway and down the road. I’m taking my brother to his new employment. I do hope he enjoys it. 

The drive took about thirty five minutes and was beautiful the entire way. Up and down small hills, around bends that gave glimpsing views of glaciers and the bay, and through the shadows of a canopy threatening to dump its leaves. It is a remarkable drive and one I don’t mind making. Nature sure does help. After dropping my brother off I ran some errands, grabbed a chai, and came home to make a quick lunch. Nothing fancy, a turkey and cheese sandwich. I actually ate two. I then did some cleaning and headed off to go to work myself. It sure is pretty here. I had to make an unexpected stop as a cow moose and her calf decided to cross the road directly in front of me. It was super cool to be so close. They ended up stopping traffic in both lanes as speed wasn’t on their minds. From what I could tell most people didn’t mind. I could see the occupants of the other cars all raising cell phones for the inadvertent photo opportunity that was being provided. I was gawking too much to even think about taking a picture, but I’ll try better next time. The rest of the trip into work was uneventlful. Work however, wouldn’t be as lax. 

Working in the mental health industry has had it’s ups and downs. The pros far outway the cons for me, but there are always times when the con presents itself. Yesterday was one of those days. I’ve set healthy boundaries while co-creating positive relationships which has helped tremendously to foster rapport with coworkers and clients. Nonetheless struggles are unavoidable, e..g., the stressfullness that comes with irrational, potentially combative behaviour when a situation is perceived as a crisis by an individual and aid person isn’t able or doesn’t understand how to deal with or address it. Often it leads to a fickle situation. Eventually though these situations pass and composure is regained. These situations can however leave a mark. It’s also part of the reason for my lack of sleep. I’m constantly questioning myself, e.g., did I make the right choice, could I have done things differently, was I helpful, should I have used different terminology, etc. etc.. I’ve also acknowledged that these types of situations can lead to burnout. I’m safeguarding against the latter by understanding my work is meaningful, valuing the impact I have on others, and appreciating the value tha clients have in me. We shall show how it goes. I’m still excited and eager to go to work every day, so I would say I’m doing alright. I must confess that I still need to work on “letting go”. Seems a litte challenging for an empath who desires to help, but I’ll get there. Perhaps I’ll share what I’ve discovered in my next blog post. Anyway After work I arrived home shortly before twenty three thirty and was drained. As you can imagine I grabed a snack and hit the sack. I was too emotionally drained to write a post. 

Fertile lands are built upon volcanic aftermath

Morning came too early today. I had a difficult night sleeping. My mind was heavy with thoughts of the past. The trickled in mid-day and didn’t seem to vanish. There was something there I needed to sleuth. I think I have concluded why and what I need to do. Not sure if I can follow through or not, but I will figure it out in the next few days. Anyway, there was a nice layer of frost today. I had to scrape the windshield. Nonetheless, it wasn’t bad. It didn’t take long for the car to heat up and I left early so I could get some cookies for a snack. I’ve been craving something sweet lately and can’t seem to find anything in the cabin that fits the description. So I bought some. It was a nice treat for myself. I also bought some bread and eggs while I was there. This would save me a trip after work. Work was nice today. Rather boaring as everyone watched football or slept most the day away. I did learn to play a little cribbage though. This was a fun reward. I must confess, my brain hurt afterwards. It’s a difficult game to learn but I was assured I would catch on within a month. Not sure if that means I’m a slow learner or it’s just that difficult. I’m going to split the difference and say a little of both. I also realized my life is full of fun houses as of late. When I’m not with my financial job I’m doing things on the preserve. Guess that’s why they say when you love your job it’s not really work. I arrived home tonight just in time to see the alpine glow creep up the snowy glaciers until it left only a shadow. I truly live in a beautiful place and one I’m beyond thankful for. Even walking out of the grocery store I found myself speaking the words “thank you” to no one in particular. Anyway, I chose to write this when I got home instead of waiting until bed. Just a littel change in the routine. It helps me keep things interesting. Anywho, until tomorrow 😀

Happy dreams make for happy mornings

The first thought I found this morning was, “the cranberries are going to be delicious”. The frost covered the grass and twinkled with a shimmer. I’ve got some work today on the preserve and I’m eager to get at it. I’ll be working on a rerout that will add a couple switchbacks to the descending and ascending trail. But before that, pancakes. Cinnamon nutmeg vanilla pancakes actually. I wanted a festive welcoming to accompany the frost. They were delicious. I ate four. While cleaning up breakfast I decided to go ahead and create some room in the cabin for a new indoor endeavor. We’ll see what happens. Until then it’s trail time 😀 I get the appropriate gear and dive head first into it. It sure was nice to get some miles in and enjoy the crisp, clean air. I also found some late season nagoon berries that I munched on. Not to mention the scenery was breathtaking. The trail itself is a little sloppy, but it’ll only get better. Hopefully it’ll make the ups and downs a little more enjoyable for the guests.

I didn’t see any wildlife, but I also didn’t expect to. Not with the equipment being used. Shortly after finishing the work I had a video chatt with part of the heart family. Their smiles are so darn contagious. I enjoy talking to Ben. He’s an honest kid. The video lasted roughly an hour and a half before I said good-bye. I sure do miss the heart family. Oh the check engine light I mentioned a few days back. It’s off. It never came back on. It lasted for about one hundred feet that beautiful day and that was it. No complaints from me about it. While I’m on side quests: my brother introduced me to a new type of nut butter. It’s an almond cashew with chia, pumpkin, and flax seed. Hands down my favorite. Pair it with bread and mulberry jam. You’ll be satisfied to surpass tantalizing. At least this was my truth. May not be yours though. Anyhow, after my video chat I put a piece of beef in the pressure cooker. It’s the simplest way I’ve found to make shredded beef. In two and a half hours, without any work, it’s ready to serve for a sandwich. Falls apart with a fork. I really do enjoy simple meals. Lol, I spent the entire time it was cooking asleep; the subtle beep of completion brought me to consciousness. I shredded some sharp cheddar and ate two pulled beefs. That’s my day. No dessert. My baking abilities hover around dreadful. I just can’t seem to get it down. 

“Our destinies change if our thoughts are strong enough to create action” Me 😀

The snow shower of yesterday has all but removed itself from any elevation below the twenty-five hundred feet mark, but that didn’t stop it from falling today. Fortunately I live and work above the one thousand feet marker. It reminds me of my time in Colorado up at Timber Ridge. I lived at the end of the road that went up a mountain and most days it would be sauched in by snow and clouds. The neat thing was half a mile down the road the weather was sunny and clear for miles. Same thing here. It is beyond beautiful. The fall smell was heavy on the air today. Not only here at the preserve, but at work as well. Driving through the aspen tunnels on my way to work caused me to leave fifteen minutes early. I know I drive slow, but include this color and I’m worse than your neighbor Sunday driver. Don’t fret, I pull off so people can pass. Had another fantastic day at the fun house. I completed some onboarding training as well. This took around two and a half hours and required I sit behind a computer screen. This was the most difficult two and a half hours I have had to endure. AAARRRGGGHHH. It was short lived though as I fought through the agony like a knight fulfilling his noble saving a princess mission. I spent the rest of my work day laughing, smiling, and understanding that we’re all the same. That’s me day. 🙂 Nothing exciting or overly ambitious. False, the time behind the computer screen was ambitious. It had tedious as a companion too. 

Keep the people in your life who encourage you to honor your betterment choices

I’m in love with life. Yup, that simple. Those internal energies, fluidal forces, vibrations, light, etc. etc. are the perfect guide. Just that genuine, authentic part that is me. Turns out it fun to share. Heck, some folks even enjoy it. Who would havec guessed? I need to sleep so I’m going to keep this short. I awoke at seven to the crisp smell of cold. Yup, belore freezing and twinkling a rare snowflake. The overcast was being supported with a hefty wind that blew the trees in an erratic display of graceful balance. Did I mention it was cold? Anyway, I ended up having a nice chai this morning as I renewed my CPR certification. I did the entire process online. The “training” left me feeling like I was taking a high school test again; memorize and repeat. A coworker swung by the coffee shop halfway through the course. This was a pleasant and welcomed break; he’s such a flower. After his departure I finished the couse by completing the “quiz”.Now the fun stuff. 

Today work was starting at 1000 or 14:30 depending on when the aircraft arrived. If on time at tten and if it’s cancled fourteen thirty. Turns out it was delayed two hours so I now have until noon. I smile leaving the warmth of the coffee shop behind and walk across the street to the local book store. I’m stoked to be checking this out as it has been my list of “local to do”. The labeling system in the store left no guessing to where anything was. They even had hand written notes below some books with a quick review. This particular creative uniqueness let me know I was in the correct place. I browsed around until the FM called at noon thirty, informing me the winds were just too strong and the flight was cancled. Not surprised. I saw the trees this morning on my way into town. Now I had up to fourteen thirty until work. I settled on a book about knots and departed. With just enough time to run back up the hill, grab the backpack with my dinner and lunch I had forgotten, and arrive at work with enough time to inhale half of the lunch I shold have already eaten hours ago. Sounds like a solid win. I skip at work too. Really says something about the atmosphere. I don’t even want to call it work. It doesn’t feel like it. It’s more like a fun house for adults. Fun fact: the fun house at our local county fair always frightened me as a child. I had seen too many scary movies and I knew what happened when people went into those. I never did go in. Anyhow, this fun house actually pays me to come. It’s a huge life win. My shift ended at 22:30 with my cheeks hurting due to the all night comedy show. As I drove back to the preserve no music needed playing, no words needed spoken, and thoughts vanished. Awareness and gratitude prevailed. 

Boundaries are healthy; it’s ok to say, no.