Off the Path or a Slightly Different Route

OFF THE PATH

 

Saturday, October 22, 2016
Twenty-two days ago I set off on my journey to a healthier lifestyle. The prompt for Day 22 of #5MFW #write31days is the word off. There are only nine days left in this challenge, so how am I doing? Well, sometimes we have to go off the path or take a different route.

 

This morning I was feeling a bit discouraged, because it seemed like I still had quite a ways to go. I did not exercise nearly as much this past week as I wanted to. You might say I felt like I had gone a bit off the path and almost wanted to give up. My eating habits were not great, and I was sure the weight I lost had come back. Then I put on my jeans that were too tight last week, and they fit! Needless to say it did encourage me a bit.

Today promised to be a busy day with my oldest daughter and her five kids here. I expected to be indoors most of the day and not get a chance to exercise. My husband and our daughter did some work outside. Among other things, they spread pine bark mulch around the garden and in front of the house. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, the air was cool and the wind was blowing.

 

SOME TIME OUTDOORS

 

It was too nice to stay inside, so I went out to see how they were doing. With the row of mulch around it the garden area looked much better. While I was admiring it I remembered that the plants needed watering. So I turned on the hose and make sure they got water.

 

 

 

 

Then I saw my small plant starts that were waiting to go into the ground. There were pansies, kale, broccoli and cauliflower. I couldn’t help myself, I just had to get my hands dirty and do some planting. By the time I finished it was cooler outside and nearing dusk, but there was still a bit of work to do.

My daughter ordered firewood that was delivered Friday night. It was outside the fenced area where the small barn is located, but she wanted to stack it in the barn to keep dry. To make it easier, my husband took a wooden folding ramp and leaned it on the fence. That way they could roll the wood down into the barnyard.

 

 

We had quite an assembly line going.

 

At first my granddaughter was picking up each piece as it landed, handing it to a brother, who handed it to me, who then handed it to my daughter to stack. Another brother was helping Grandpa slide the wood down the ramp.

 

OFF THE PATH OR A DIFFERENT ROUTE

 

As the wood started coming faster my granddaughter had trouble staying out of the way. She decided to toss pieces off to side, then move over and start handing off the wood again. Her brother got the idea to yell out “Incoming!” so she could move in plenty of time before the next barrage came down the ramp. Her brother got the idea to yell out “Incoming!” It was a lot of work, but it was fun and went quickly with so many helpers. The younger ones also helped part of the time and they knew a sense of accomplishment.

 

By the end of the day, I was no longer discouraged, even though I felt exhausted. We had a lot of special family time indoors and out. Instead of my normal exercise routine I went off the path and took a slightly different route. It not only gave me plenty of exercise but included fresh air and sunshine, too! 

*Check out my daughter’s business at Liberated Landscapes LLC.

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