Last week I was in a bit of a slump both mentally and physically. For some reason I fell into this depressive state after the half marathon. I had so much anxiety leading up to the race and then I just felt tired and demotivated afterwards. I wasn’t in a good mood and I didn’t have the energy to exercise for five days which made it worse. Anyway, that changed this weekend and I felt back to myself and reenergized.
I have a habit of looking at the memories that pop up in my photos from this time last year. In April 2024, I was running often and just started my new job. I was doing the same things to welcome the spring season into my house including buying fresh flowers, going for longer walks, buying new clothes for warmer weather, etc. I was really starting to hit my stride last spring and it got me thinking about the changing of the seasons. I take the seasons very seriously and see the value in each of them.
My dad sent this text exactly one year ago and I think about it often. He’s always been supportive of me but since I moved abroad, he’s been sweet to me like this. Emerging from winter, I feel this way all over again. I wasn’t down in the same sense but I certainly was feeling the winter blues in Germany. This morning I took Russ for our normal walk and the sun was shining and it was already warm outside. Good Lord, this shift in climate revives my will to live. It makes me want to spend all my time outside or out of the house. I’ll go for a run at lunch and a yoga class tonight. Over the weekend I walked 20-25k steps a day, went to flea markets, saw friends, exercised and was exhausted by Sunday evening. To quote my text above, “i’m back baby!”
I’ve thought a lot about my dip in mood after the race. I’ve journaled about it and worked my way to the other side of it. I’m working a short week with the holiday and come Thursday night, Adam and I are off to Mallorca. We rented a car and I’m looking forward to bringing a few rolls of film, having coffees outside and spending time together in a new place. This weekend as we were walking around we kept verbalizing how thankful we were for everything in our lives right now and how nice our days were this weekend. We have these little rituals and they’ve been in place for as long as I can remember. We wake up on Saturday mornings and have our coffee while talking about all sorts of things or watching a show together. Then we finish our first (or second) cup of coffee and take Russ on a walk around the neighborhood. It’s my favorite activity of the week.
Spring has sprung!!