Spring Fever?

I know I should be excited the days are getting longer, the temperatures are getting warmer, and there's a hint of summer just around the corner. The truth is, there's something about the onset of Spring that makes me very sad. Or maybe it makes me have SAD, just in a different month than everyone else. I get super tired all the time and I just don't want to really do anything. I start thinking I have chronic fatigue, or some other deadly affliction, and then I remember that I get extra tired every year at this time.

I think the possibility of being able to do things outside reminds me of all the inside projects I never got around to doing over the winter. And then I start down this spiral thinking about everything in my life I didn't finish, or didn't finish well, and then I start thinking that I'm never going to be successful, and everyone hates me and I'm going to end up homeless and alone.

I know it's not rational, but sometimes I'm not rational. Instead, I lay in bed a little longer, I wear my sweatpants a little more often, and I drink a little more coffee. This year I'm trying to be somewhat proactive. I'm working on projects more often, I'm cleaning and getting rid of a LOT of things. I'm making the area around me a little happier in hopes that it will be a reflection of myself. And you know what? I think it's working.

For starters, I'm watching less TV. It is so easy for me to get sucked into sitting on the couch all day, and then the laundry doesn't get folded, the dishes don't get washed, and nothing gets finished. By limiting my TV time, I am able to get a lot more accomplished, and I start feeling like there are more hours in a day, and maybe I'm not quite the failure I thought I was.

I will keep you guys updated, but this is shaping up to be the best Spring ever! Or, at least I'm trying to make it the best Spring ever.

Oh Dear Barbara!

It's been a less than fabulous week here at the Moore homestead. Monday night one of our chickens was taken, we think by a fox. I was awakened by this screeching noise, at first I thought it was the cat, then I realized it was one of the chickens. There was just a pile of feathers, and a trail leading into the woods. It was our darling Babs, the leader of the two. Now poor sad Gertrude is all alone, and we need to find her some chicken friends. The lady I got them from only has boys to give away, and I'm not certain we need a rooster around here. But polish roosters are hilarious looking, and that could be reason enough to get one. And they try to protect their ladies, so I think we'll get one rooster. Even still, I think she's going to need a couple of girlfriends. And I need to pick out the best rooster name ever.

Then the next day, our betta fish, Oscar, passed away. We've had Oscar for about a year, and he'd been acting like the end was near, so it was not entirely a surprise. It was, however, still a big bummer to have two of our pets die within 24 hours of each other.

The good news is the dogs, the cat, and the other fish all seem to be doing very well!

Here's a pic of Barbara the Polish Chicken, to remember her by:

I've been avoiding posting for a few weeks because, well, my dad died. And I thought I had to write something profound and heartfelt to show how wonderful he was and how much I loved him. But I was heartbroken and couldn't find the words.

Then I had too many words. They all came jumbled inside, and I had to get all of them out, but it made no sense and because the world's longest run on sentence.

So here's what you need to know: I love my dad. Though he was sick for a long time, and I truly recognize that he's in a better place and not suffering anymore, I still wasn't ready to not have a dad anymore. Most days I get through the day just fine, and then it will hit me that he's not here anymore.

There doesn't have to be just one post about my dad, there can be many. I have thirty years of memories of him, I can't get them all out at once. I think that's how it should be. Someday, I will tell you all about his last days, because they were actually quite wonderful. Right now it's all a little raw, but now it's out there, and I can move on ever so slightly, a little bit at a time.