Cabin Fever

Mid-January in Missouri and I'm restless.  I'm also a little irritable, irregular, unbalanced, and spend too much time indoors because the weather is fickle.  I have a dozen projects planned for such a time but lack the drive and motivation to get started.  When I do get into something, I lose interest with the first minor distraction.  I have Cabin Fever.

This happens every year at this time.  The first signs begin shortly after the New Year buzz of new beginnings wears thin.  Got the new calendars up.  Did some deep cleaning here and there that will do until Spring.  Poking around the office paperwork slowly shredding the old and organizing the new in an ever improving way; vowing to do better on my budget.  Put on my 'fat' jeans because that's how I feel although my regular jeans fit okay.  I haven't really started scanning and digitizing the old photos or started back up with genealogy as I thought I would by now; just not into it, I guess I'm hoping for some direct family interest.  Haven't got very far reorganizing my MP3 player playlists either.  Haven't even gave a second thought to sewing projects, fly-tying, or arts and crafts projects I thought I was interested in at one time.  Pushing myself to do something useful and hopefully interesting instead of taking an afternoon nap and/or streaming movies and TV series.

Knowing this was coming, I started my SBU Wellness Center membership as soon as the snow cleared the roads and I could get out.  It has been a major effort to drag my butt and duffel bag 30 miles in the cold to keep it moving.  I will begin my third week early tomorrow morning and am looking forward to a special day out that begins with a Zumba class.  So far, I've barely kept up in that class and may actually have more fun than frustration this next time.  Then I will treadmill for another hour. and lift weights for a total of two hours moving at the Wellness Center.   Hopefully, I will be energized by mid-morning before I drive another 25 miles south to Springfield.

I am having my "Christmas in January" day which I planned for this Cabin Fever time.  My family gave me gift cards this year at Christmas and I'm using them all on one day out.  It will start with a gift lunch at Panera Bread from my daughter because she knows how much I enjoy that restaurant.  I even have a couple coupons as to not use up all the generous gift card.  One is $1 off any soup and a free birthday dessert from last month that is still good.  Then I have a massage appointment at Grove Spa which includes a deep tissue massage for 60 minutes, foot scrub, and back polish.  That generous gift was from my husband.  Then finally, I will be all relaxed to sit in a luxurious leather recliner at the Starplex Cinema courtesy of my son and daughter-in-law who gave us a generous movie pass.  I think I'll see Saving Mr. Banks, a movie with Tom Hanks about Walt Disney and Mary Poppins.

P.S.  I saw the movie and it was a wonderful "inner child" experience for me!  I laughed.  I cried.  I sang.  For me it was all about the magic that is "Disney."  1964 was a sad time in our nation's history after the Novemeber 1963 Kennedy Assasination and I was an 11 year old girl whose mother was having her first big cancer.  Mary Poppins was the one who could come in and "fix" everything and make it right again; such was the magic of movies...especially Disney ones!  The background in making this movie, as seen through adult eyes now, again helped me see ways to cope with things that were out of my control and come to a place of joy again.  I needed that!  Of course, having a deep tissue massage just before seeing the movie certainly helped in opening all tensions and the tears flowed readily.  Overall, it was a movie that you leave smiling :)

Hopefully, this will rejuvenate me as I continue the rest of the week with my Wellness Center schedule.  I have also begun Continuing Education online classes last week.  I need 28 hours by June and it's going slow because I know there's no rush and I can do it in just 8 hours a month or a couple mornings a week most weeks.  I do this ever two years to keep up my Appraisal General Certification although I'm not seeking work in my field since I retired two years ago after 30 years working for the state.  I'll write more about that in my blog when I get it done.  Last night was my first Master Naturalist class which is an old dream finally coming true from my youth to work in conservation!  I will write more about that later as it will continue until May then there will be much volunteer hours full of interesting outdoor projects and people.

So maybe I'm doing okay with what is happening now and in the near future!  Next month begins a new season of Master Gardener service projects and this year my husband will be a big part with me as he got his training done December 2013 online and gardening is what we love doing together more than anything else!  We have started planning our own gardens already and will likely be starting some seeds soon and some early cold crops by March.  March is when fly-fishing season begins!  Probably will have the kayaks out and ready for the first nice day!  We are starting to plan a trip for our 40th wedding anniversary in May; likely Hot Springs, Arkansas!  I also want to spend time with my Virginia family in the Fall!

Okay, I will stay with this momentum and keep it going until this Cabin Fever breaks and not sabotage it with all those other planned projects I haven't got done or even started much and concentrate on what I can get done that is fun and look forward to better weather when I will be at my best!