Last week was fairly tough for me emotionally, but I seem to be over the worst of it. In fact, I even got out and walked yesterday and it seems very likely I will get out today as well. If for no other reason then I need my bike tomorrow and the tires need some air. They are not low enough that I couldn’t just use my own air pump, but the pressure gauge is broken and that seems like a useful thing to know when pumping up one’s tires.
Speaking of bikes, I think we have finally hit on something that will get David to ride with me. A child. We live in a very bike-friendly neighborhood a block from bike boulevard and an elementary/middle school. So every day we see parents on bikes with their kids. The bikes being ridden range from large cargo bikes to regular bikes with a kid seat on the back. And while it will be a long time from the time a baby is placed with us before we would take her out on a bike, it is the first time in almost 17 years that David has volunteered any interest in getting out on his bike. I see that as major progress.
The purge has kind of stalled because of last week’s wane in mojo. But I am going to Chicago for Memorial Day and I have some colleagues* coming in this weekend, so I kind of feel like I need to do double-duty this week. On the flip side, the week is already pretty packed with an adoption support group meeting, theater and David’s writing group. That being said, this is still the most free time I will have for a good long while, so I will just find a way to make it work.
I have recently read that purging works best in shortish (15-30 minute) increments. My MO tends to be setting aside a big chunk of time (2-6 hours) and just digging in. Maybe I will try the short chunk of time method this week and see how far it gets me. I am not optimistic given both the amount of clutter we have and the amount we are trying to get rid of, but I am open to being proven wrong on this. I know David would certainly prefer to do his share of the work in smaller chunks of time.
*Can I just add how incredibly fortunate I am that I have the kind of colleagues that I am super excited to get to hang out with? I will get to see even more of them while I am in Chicago. In fact, they are the reason that I am going to Chicago.