As I sit on our back porch typing this, our internet is down. It has been glitching for a few days now. We have lost power for a couple days for 3-6 hours. Such is life in a small town, I guess. A year ago, I would have been anxious about it all. Today, almost exactly four years to the day of living on the lake, I am enjoying not having the distraction of a working internet connection.
It has been hot here in Southwest Virginia. This morning, I was determined to get up early and walk while the temps were low and in the 60’s. But my body had other ideas as it continued to heal from a light case of pneumonia and the side effects caused by steroids. Little sleep, headache, swelling, and a face rash were doable for the most part but coming off the steroids (this morning I took the last pill), has me feeling like a train wreck. The plus side to steroids, and I would that I could take them every day for these “side-effects”: no joint or muscle pain, including my lower back, energy for days, and feeling jacked up to take on the world physically, emotionally, spiritually. Sadly, long-term steroid usage is not good for the body. Honestly? The porch is gorgeous this morning and the light bobbing of the water on the lake is soothing. I will sit here awhile.
It has been a while since I sat to write anything for anyone else to read. No real reason why. It has not felt like a priority. This morning, I realized I missed sharing thoughts and words. Not that I have been silent, by any means, as my family will attest. They all hear from me multiple times a day, sometimes every hour. My priorities have shifted, but there is room for both, I think. It hit me a year or so ago that we (the husband of my youth and I) are in our 60s; comfortably embracing the retired life and thankful for it. Our kiddos are all 3-4 hours in any direction, but we do have family local and are enjoying our time with them every week. I feel like the time is getting short, running out. Not in the immediate sense, but in the 15-20 years sense. You know? Keeping active, mobile, and healthy is more and more a priority. Getting in the car and visiting our children or friends (who are all defecting the Northern Virginia area), much more important than it seemed to be when we moved to the lake. Reading and streaming the worship services of our children’s biblically sound churches more of a priority than television and the Internet.
The lake has been crazy already this year. Two more months of the traffic, both on and off the lake, the non-resident cars zipping up and down our small, normally very quiet subdivision, and the packed restaurants and grocery store will fade away come September. I’m not wishing the summer away. Yet. But I am already looking forward to the calm quiet that Fall will bring. Meanwhile, you can find me enjoying our simple lake view. I really do need to get the husband to trim back some of the low branches down there.
Susan Wheeler Smith 