I'm taking a page from my friend and colleague Bronwyn's blog, although I'm going to begin with A and and try to go through in order. We'll see. No promises.
My dictionary defines apathy as:
1. Lack of interest or concern, esp. in matters of general importance or appeal; indifference.
2. Lack of emotion or feeling; impassiveness.
That pretty much sums up my summer.
Part of it has been the weather. Both the heat and humidity outside and the air conditioning inside (without which I cannot sleep when it's hot and humid) sap my energy. And on those days when the weather has been pleasant, my energy has been too sapped to do very much. When I'm not working, I spend a lot time rereading favorite books. That doesn't involve a lot of energy or thinking.
I haven't been practicing much either. By the time I get home most evenings I don't have a lot of energy, having spent it making sure I'm on top of things at work and planning ahead. Most of what's left goes toward minimal housekeeping chores. And since I have no gigs scheduled, practicing is way down on the priority list. Not to mention that I've posted only two entries here so far this summer.
About the only thing I've paid attention to is my diet. While I've not been totally diligent (read: some days have been total disasters in terms of either too much or not enough), I have been slowly shifting my eating habits. For the most part, my meals have been more balanced, and they've been smaller in portion size. As I've been better about my eating, my body has been better at letting me know how it's feeling. Or rather, I'm learning to pay more attention to my body.
I haven't been a total lump this summer. I'm on the planning committee for the 120th Anniversary celebration at my church. A group of friends that hasn't seen each other for several months has been intentional about getting together a couple of times over the six weeks. I've been recruiting for our Education for Ministry (EfM) group, which starts in September (if your in lower Fairfield County and are interested, let me know). I've been making vacation plans for December. And I have been listening to recordings of music I'd like to work on when I start practicing again.
But there is a long list of things I should have done this summer that have gone undone--some important, some not. Most days I look at the list and say "Oh well."
This week I've started to work on getting some of those items checked off.
And I will start practicing again.
As soon as I find the energy.
