Entry 6 and Entry 7: Springing into a Slump
Because a few blogs in row were time sensitive, we had to bump Harriet’s March 4 entry. But when her diary entry came in this week, we thought it was appropriate to run both at once.
March 4, 2011
Spring has sprung in Dallas!! My Redbud tree is blooming, as is my Yellow Jasmine. My Japanese Maple has tiny buds just about to burst into beautiful red leaves, and my Jonquils are very yellow! No purple Iris yet, but they will emerge soon, I’m sure.
The dead plants in my various porch planters look REALLY dead now that other stuff is blooming, so I guess I know what I’ll be doing this weekend.
I LOVE Spring and Summer! I’m sorry for those of you up North who are still waiting, but I am jumping up and down with glee over the “bustin’-out-all-over” I see happening in Big D. The azaleas are just about to add to the riot of color all over town (my all time favorite!), and the Dallas Arboretum is literally bursting with color and a zillion new flowers!
Time to get the screen porch spiffed up and cleaned for porch-sittin’ and spying on the neighbors (one of my favorite past times), put some color in the porch planters, clean out the flower beds (of course, I’m not going to do that, but time to do it anyway), and generally do some spring cleaning.
Speaking of which, what kind of Spring cleaning do you need to do? Besides all the house stuff, how about clearing the cobwebs out of our brains and letting in some new thoughts, ideas, and information? Time to take the vacuum cleaner to our heads and clean out all that dead stuff that’s been hibernating all winter. Time to breathe in new life and exhale all that old, dusty stuff.
Or, if you’ve been incubating new plans, ideas, or projects all winter, NOW is the time to put them into action! The death of Winter gives way to the newness of Spring and all the possibilities that come with it. Time to come out of hibernation and create something grand!
OMG! I just saw a Robin for the first time this Spring! How cool is that?
March 21, 2011
I find myself in a very big slump. Spring has sprung, the flowers are blooming, trees are greening, days are extending, grass is growing, and I am slumping. I have little to no desire to write and honestly feel there is nothing much to write about.
What has happened to me? Daylight Savings Time kicked my you-know-what this year…..me! I’m the one who waits with bated breath for the day when light extends to 8:00 in the evening. This year, however, all I can think about is how DARK it is in the mornings!
What has brought on this slump, this depression, this listlessness, this ho-humness?
Upon careful analysis, I think I’m suffering from too much bad news, too often. Every day I am bombarded with advocacy alerts to save something our fine legislators are trying to skewer. On every level of government, the ax is hard at work hacking away at any semblance of safety for our most vulnerable citizens. It feels like that stupid pop-up game where you have to hit these things that pop up out of a very big board. They pop up faster and faster until you can’t keep up. Or the episode of “I Love Lucy” comes to mind…..the one with Lucy and Ethel and the assembly line that keeps moving faster and faster……Hilarious to watch, but in real life overwhelming, mind-numbing, bringing on feelings of helplessness, and apathy.
I call it advocacy fatigue. There is too much to care about….too much to save, too little time, too few people who care.
So…..for a person like me, who is in this world to have an impact, to then feel I have no possibility of changing things, of having no impact, is pretty soul crushing. Soul crushing enough that not even Spring can cheer me up. Which is NOT to say I’ve quit trying. I’m still in there, still going to Austin, still sending e-mails to legislators, still doing the deal.
But some days I just feel like lying down and surrendering…..admitting defeat. The tide is too great, the blood-lust to cut too far reaching.
I think I might need a vacation….. What do you think?
