Writing from my Oasis

I've been wanting to write since the day we got down to what I like to affectionately call "my oasis". It's our family home down in Florida and there really is no place better to me than this. This place is one of few where I able to truly un-wind and feel like I can relax. Most of the time I spend down here in by our pool. It is enclosed under a lanai so no bugs or other various animals can enter in. We have a small patio out here with a table and chairs and a tv so I really don't need anything else than all of that. I even sit out here when its chilly out simply because I find it to be so relaxing. My mom and I came down almost 2 weeks ago and of course the time has flown by. A lot of people don't understand how we can both just choose to leave our husbands and come down here but we have been doing this for years. I have also found spending time apart from my husband can sometimes be a good thing. Since we've been down here there have been a few troubling things that have happened. First, COVID is still rampant and only continuing to grow by the minute. My husband had a close encounter where he ended up getting tested (thankfully he was negative), but it creates such a stressful feeling. I can now understand why so many people feel stressed when that happens. Hopefully we don't come into contact with that again and we all remain healthy. Also since we have been here our Nation has truly suffered. Rioters and Trump supporters decided to storm the Capitol while Congress was in session to determine our next President whom we have all known for a while would be Joe Biden. Trump and his supporters have decided they are not willing to accept this new Presidency and instead behave like absolute imbesiles. It has been a total embarressment to our Country. And it is also quite scary to wonder what direction this will only move us towards. Civil war (again) doesn't seem far. For those of us who are believers, it has caused us to cry out to God all the more for guidance and help. Aside from the negative things going on around us, I have been trying to focus on my goals for 2021. 2020 certainly was a whirlwind for all of us. COVID and the pandemic that it created really brought on so much emotional and physical stress to us all. I have been encouraged and challeneged even to find an outlet to better help me to manage my stress. I carry a lot of weight on my shoulders and I don't necessarily handle stress well, particularly at work. Of course I am still on my weight loss journey and really want to commit to Weight Watchers. While I've been down here in my Oasis, I have definitely indulged in more carbs and wine than I normally would but I have seen the program working for me before I came down here. I also started back to running, more of a jogging than running but I don't think I realized how much I do actually enjoy doing that. There is something calming about putting on my headphones and choosing either a podcast or music to listen to while I try to tune everything else out and just go! I know this is something I need to continue to do when I get home despite the cold weather. I do have my treadmill in the garage so perhaps I need to rely on that initially. What else can I really do though to eleviate my stress? I am not a big reader. Not to say I don't enjoy that but that doesn't necessarily bring my stress level down. I don't really have any other kind of activity that I really enjoy except cooking. But I even have limits how I can enjoy cooking. I need to have a great recipe but I need the time to do it. I don't like to feel limited by time or to even want to do that after a long day of work. So there isn't much else left other than going out with my girlfriends for wine time. But again, I'm on the weight loss journey so trying to cut back on that. I know this is a lot of rambling which doesn't go with my blog title rather perfect, but I am a person who requires putting my thoughts on paper, or in this case typing, before I can really draw any kind of conclusion or get my thoughts straight. In fact, sometimes me just typing out all these thoughts is my stress reliever. Perhaps there is something to that. Maybe I am meant to simply just write. It gets all emotion out on the table and I am able to truly put together all my ramblings in one place. I always say I want to blog more and maybe this year will be the year. For now, I am just trying to enjoy the rest of our time here in my oasis. We leave the day after tomorrow so today is really my last day to really enjoy being by the pool and relax. Tomorrow begins the cleaning and packing day which is always a sad time for me. I hate leaving here so much every time, especially when I don't know when I will be back. My mom also keeps talking about wanting to sell the place. My hope would be if she could find a maintenance-free type of spot within this neighborhood. Perhaps then I wouldn't feel as sad about leaving this house, but either way it will be hard. I don't even want to think about when that day would come. Well, until next time...