Nine Feet Underground

Back to work.  Work continues to be busy which, within certain previously tested limits, is a useful way to keep my mind distracted. Beyond that, not a lot.  There seem to be a lot of things to organise concerning my wife's care at the moment, which generates more work, mainly in the form of phone calls and emails in the first instance, at least. The details of my stepmother-in-law's funeral are now through and, after a conversation with work, I am having the afternoon off as compassionate leave.  I hadn't asked for it, but my manager offered it, and on reflection I realised it was a good idea.  I am so use to having things to deal with, I don't stop to think about the impact they have on me, occasionally with less than good outcomes. The day progresses as a working day usually does. I start cooking the dinner, joined a bit later by son #2, and eventually we sit down (three out of four - son #3 is engaged in his 'Rocket League' tournament) and watch 'Reginal...

Tuesday and back to work.  This is the second week of son #2's new job and it's quite strange both of us working at home - he's in son #3's temporarily vacated bedroom, working at the desk in there and I'm in my office.  When we have a full house again there's going to be some juggling around to be done. As lockdown number 3 approaches I'm getting emails from my employer and my client about what I/we have to do and it's all getting me down, on top of all the other shit I'm bailing. Anyway, work. Late afternoon I decide to go out and walk for 30 minutes or so before the sun sets. If I've got another 4 weeks locked at home again I'm really going have to get out and walk more often, ideally daily.  Let's see how I do tomorrow. People are impossible to fathom, at times. Whatever the answer, it is getting me down. Son #2 insisted on doing the dinner on his own, which was kind, and allowed me to clear up stuff in the kitchen and hang some of my...

Monday, bloody Monday. The day before, and all that... Early start in order to be up, showered, dressed, and fed & watered in time for a 7:30 a.m. mindful meditation session over Teams, for a change. This is the first of these that I've been able to attend since they started doing a month or so back, and it was a good way to begin the day. It lasted about 45 minutes, including the group discussion amongst the four of us at the end.  It's a weekly offering from Talking Therapies and I'll probably make it a regular thing from now on, spaces permitting. Next big item on the agenda is yoga at 10 a.m. - I've got a bunch of things to organise / set in motion before then. Yoga's done. Another quite intense session, with quite a lot of my least favourite thing - balancing poses. I am working on my balance separately, but I think it'll be a while before I can play the flute standing on one leg. A chunk of the afternoon was taken up with taking all three son...

Up at 6 and doing a 30 minute pranayama session at 7am.  Committed or what? (Should be, probably) Given I slept really badly last night, owing in main to the pain from my UTI, the pranayama session did an amazing job of waking me up. I felt really energised afterwards and that continued on into the day. I should probably do it everyday, however its so much easier to do it when someone's guiding a session.  I'm not at the stage where I could do it myself, for a whole host of reasons. Oh, well, until next Wednesday, then. A spot of breakfast (porridge with fruit + strong coffee, should you want to know), then on the phone to GP surgery because the antibiotics don't seem to be working (see above). The new plan is to get a prescription for an alternative antibiotic (the one that worked last time, but not the one that usually works, which I'm on, but doesn't seem to be working this time), and also to take a 'sample' to the surgery. Don't seem to have man...