The Pool, Friends and Video Chats

It's cool outdoors, and yesterday was also. That makes for pleasant gardening, but cold runs in and out of the outdoor pool. We'll all be complaining about the run back and forth today again, because we'll all be shivering a bit - especially on our way out of the pool and back into the building. That hot shower after the swim will be wonderfully welcome today. 

We have quite a crowd of people waiting for the YMCA doors 
to be unlocked at 5:00 am daily. The majority of those people 
are here for the outdoor swimming pool. It gets super crowded 
later on in the day, but the 5:00 am groups are pretty structured 
and I usually only share my lane with one other person. 

I awakened early (my alarm was set for 3:00 am), and decided to just stay up. It's a laundry and cooking day and it's going to be a VERY busy one, so settling into my morning meditation earlier wasn't a problem. If I'm super exhausted and time allows (and I'm in the mood), I can maybe grab a quick nap this afternoon. But I doubt I'll be inclined. I'll be dragging by the end of the week, but there's nothing unusual in that. 

I'm sleepy, and I'll regret having awakened 
before 3:00 am later today. But, I have a 
ton of stuff to do today, so I won't have any 
time to complain. 

I think Aearwen and I are back on schedule for our weekly chat and catch-up this afternoon. We went for several years with very few interruptions, but the past six months with my cancer and various health things for her and her family in California ... well, our schedule has been interrupted more often than usual. It's not like we chat about anything earthshaking. We just see where the flow takes us and talk about this and that - daily life and mundane things. But she's another of the friends I hold dear whom I've never actually met in person. It's one of the marvelous things about the internet and the various communities that it has fostered over time. You can make friends that you hold dear, interact with them regularly, but never actually meet them face-to-face. Quite remarkable. 

I have quite a few online friends whom I've never 
met in person, and quite a few other online friends 
whom I've only met in person a few times. I cherish 
all of my friends, they enrich my life and pull me out 
of my daily rut. Whether I'm interacting in an actual 
conversation or just passing notes back and forth 
online, they are cherished. 

I'm sure you also have online friends with whom you communicate regularly, but who you've never met in person. That would have been impossible in my youth. The closest you could come to something like this would have been a pen pal. I had a pen pal who lived in Alaska for about six months or so, but I really dislike writing - I'm a keyboard kind of person. And it's really not the same, is it? The internet gives us almost immediate feedback, and if we want something more immediate, there's always the phone or a face-to-face on the screen. I don't face time often, preferring to chat over the phone or in text, but I have done so in the past and I'm sure I will be on-screen again in the future. It's a fact of our current life styles in the USA. We can face-time with dear friends from around the world quite easily. 

I got used to doing weekly video chats while I was 
starting my WildFit food program. I prefer to use 
the laptop for video chats - the phone is just too small 
of a screen. But I have had video chats on my phone 
with my dear friend Shruti who lives in India. It's always 
a joy to hear from her. 

So, have an excellent Wednesday, I'll be cooking like crazy - my side of the refrigerator needs some serious love. I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini.