I love my morning-rituals. To me, there is something magical about the calm and stillness of a quiet morning before the world around me awakes. I think it is fair to say, almost all normal everyday things we do in this “cocooning-healing” phase (brought on by COVID) that our global village is embracing (aka isolating), is the same but different.
Over the last few months as Martin and I prepare to move onto our boat, we regularly ask ourselves or each other, how are we going to do this or that on the boat? Most things are more or less the same but a little different.
My morning-rituals include taking Zac (my cat) for his morning walk around the house.
He walks on a lead.
He has done so from when he was 12 weeks old. He used to come with me to the park and the lagoon at Sandgate. (Image right is of Zac sitting next to me at the lagoon as I worked). And over the years he was very adaptable. I would take him to weekly visits to the hospital to visit my goddaughter. She was an inpatient for way too many months. She loved Zac’s visit’s as did all the other patients who took the opportunity to pet him. It was wonderful to see the joy on their faces.
Ever since we moved into this house 5.5 years ago, we have not really taken him socialising. I had not consciously thought about it. Reflecting back on why, I can easily put it down to who we visited. Firstly, there is no need for hospital visits anymore… (OK you two – have you GOT that?) Additionally, one family we use to visit moved overseas and another now has a couple of dogs. The third family, was a short walk up the street to their place. Then we moved.…
Nevertheless, I take him for walks most mornings around the house.
He adores his morning-rituals.
He has a routine; It starts at the bottom of the back steps with him tugging at the lead to go, waiting impatiently for me to let the lead out. He wants to rush down the driveway as fast as I will allow him on his lead. That speed will depend on whether I have a cup of tea in my hand, and if it is steaming hot or has been sitting a little.
He gets to the end of the drive and starts sniffing to investigate which of the neighbour’s cats have been visiting overnight. He then walks along the front hedge, stopping to scratch his nails on an exposed tree root that accepts this ritual without protest… Further stopping a second time to look out the front gate. He continues along the front hedge. I think this is his scouting run. He then turns and comes back knowing exactly where he wants to spray his scent to reclaim his territory.
From here the rest of the walk around the house is playful for him. Jumping under bushes, investigating climbing etc. While he is doing this, each stop he takes becomes my workout point. I either do lunges or squats. As many as the pause allows. Other the years, my exercise routine has fallen away for various reasons. However, I almost always do my lunges and squats. The reason being they are two of the three essential exercises you should do if you want to wear high-heals without discomfort.
As most of you know, I love wearing high-heals. My body shows the evidence of it. I have shortened tendons in my calves, My big toes in a natural relaxed position no longer sit flat, they curl up and because this I have been unable to walk in thongs. For many years now my feet just don’t work as they should in a flat position. With the slight upwards tilt of my big toes they are simply not in the right position to flick the thong back and stop them from falling off my feet. So when I need to wear flats I have always worn sandals (preferably Merrill’s or something like that) with the arch support or my sandshoes. It is hard to find elegant sandals.
So, this is where the same but different comes in.
With our cocooning, I have not been wearing heals and gradually I have found myself starting to wear my two pairs of thongs (one ordinary everyday pair and the other slightly more elegant) that have been sitting neglected for so long in my wardrobe. Previously, I would wear them for short bursts until I kick them off in frustration. They would stay there neglected until I walk past them and maybe put them away. Now this in one habit that must change when we are on the boat.
But now I find wearing them more and more and am becoming comfortable with them. I am learning how to walk in them.
I have already been downsizing my heals. However, I have not downsized them enough. I imagine myself going back to my client’s office wearing my heals. I am wondering, will I still have my super high-heals? Will I keep my mid-heal height? What will stay and what will go? Will I be able to spend all day in heals? Will my lower back start hurting as I get back into heals? I had better start doing my core strength exercises in anticipation…
And as for the answers, time will tell.
What is the same but different for you?
