Topping Up Batteries

It was Monday and the start of a new week as I stood beside a lovely funeral director as she chose some flowers for our family’s memory box. We had just held a loving celebration of life for a special lady and all was balanced. I passed her a spray from a delicate blue hyacinth and my eyes filled with tears. I apologised and quickly gathered myself together. She hugged me and asked if I was alright, I nodded and we turned to look after the family and friends in our care.

I am midway through my sixties and have learned to pay attention to the signs my body gives me. When I returned home, I chatted with Tim, and he put the kettle on so we could have a cuppa. ‘I need to ease up on taking on any new services for a few days’, I commented, and Tim looked across and said, ‘Yes, and you need to be gentler with yourself.’

A mixture of doing right by others, juggling different spinning plates and handling the day to day in our hectic lives can leave us feeling lacking and depleted. Let’s face it, we’re not great at putting ourselves first, and I am definitely in that group. All I can say is it’s a work in progress. I try to pay attention to the signs and be aware of the things that fill my inner batteries as I make a conscious choice to include them in the daily round.

For the last few months, I have been pondering what we can do with our raised flower bed in the front garden. Roses seemed a great idea last year and a full season of looking after them and battling ‘black spot’ continuously, has left us with the knowledge that it’s just too damp for them to thrive here. Driving home from the service on that Monday morning, it was a mild day with hints of Spring in the air. As I paused at some traffic lights I saw a picture in my mind’s eye and I knew exactly what to plant this year and how to gift the rose bushes on lovingly.

Last Saturday evening, we attended a party to celebrate a friend’s 50th Birthday and it was great. Strangely enough, in the last three and a half years we have been together, Tim and I have never had an opportunity to dance, so we were looking forward to ‘cutting shapes in the church of dance’, as he put it.

It didn’t matter what the DJ put on, the dance floor stayed rather empty, till one of our group asked Tim what he would dance to. He replied, ‘Boom, boom, shake the room’ and Tim meant the track by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. We carried on chatting and our friend returned.

‘Come on then’, she said.

We listened to the music for a minute.

‘This is not the ‘Boom, boom, shake the room’, I meant’, Tim replied.

Undaunted, our buddy asked Tim to make another choice.

‘Ian Dury and The Blockheads & Hit me with your rhythm stick’, Tim replied.

It started playing and a few of us got up to dance, but it quickly became obvious that Tim and a friend were fabulous together and we gave them the floor. These two men were in sync as they sang to each other and danced in unison, as the rest of us, helpless with laughter, cheered them on. A heart memory none of us will forget.

Tim and I did get to dance together afterwards, and dancing with my husband is in my heart for something to do when my batteries need topping up, as is being in nature and around animals, spending time with little ones, writing, making things, and sitting watching the birds visit our garden. 🩷

Sharing an excerpt from this week’s Thoughtful Tuesday ~ ‘What We Love’.

My love to you all and I will be back next week. 🩷