tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71890881722682492952024-03-13T21:52:42.184-04:00Meredith KendallReiki Nursemeredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comBlogger1475125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-24271342744186789702021-08-14T11:59:00.000-04:002021-08-14T11:59:03.553-04:00Lovely Reiki Session<p> Experienced the gift of a lovely Reiki session last week. I had acute dental pain and was in an emotional transition. It was hot outside, a summer day in Maine. Cool in the Reiki room and toasty warm on Martha's heated table. I relaxed. </p><p>She began at my head, of course. Her hands were hot. I felt the heat, as though her hands remained, when she changed positions. I saw visions. I transformed into a flying eagle, a snake, and I can't remember, a lamb? I became the eagle and flew through the sky. I could see a river and wooded hills. I became a snake and slithered through the grass. The visions and sensations were vivid. I became a lamb, except I think it was some other mammal. Should have written this last week. Then the eagle spied and snatched the snake, food for hungry eaglets. </p><p>At the end of the session, I drew a tarot card. It was the 10 of Cups, tilted left. I saw women, rain for the fields, and vessels. It seemed like a message of hope. I read in the accompanying booklet that I should notice the love that is all around me.</p><p>Thank you, Reiki Master and Sister Shihan, Martha! </p><p>Feeling stressed, in pain, overwhelmed? Please sign up for a session with a local Reiki practitioner. Notice the love around you. Heal yourself. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-87828805384958032032021-06-02T22:03:00.006-04:002021-06-03T08:23:20.662-04:00Sharing Reiki<p><span style="font-size: x-large;">S</span>ometimes when I share Reiki I feel like Glinda. I think, "But my dear, you have the power, you always had the power; you just have to learn it for yourself." </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-58267893558589846952021-04-09T23:25:00.001-04:002021-04-09T23:25:33.917-04:00Winter to Spring<p> What were the biggest piles of snow are dirty lumps of ice. Yellow daffodils shine. </p><p>In a doctor's waiting room sisters fought over who would care for their father, frail and forgetful in a wheelchair. Metamorphic rocks have wavy stripes that mimic the waves that wash over them. </p><p>A jaw abscess is painful. I know where there is a field of tiny blue flowers, Siberian squill.</p><p>Mallards are back at the pond. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-30663595982435486052021-04-03T19:49:00.001-04:002021-04-03T19:49:18.939-04:00Walking<p> I walk in the morning. Not far. Not fast. Well, sometimes I shuffle quickly, almost a jog. Not often.</p><p>Sometimes I walk around a pond. The ice went out last week, or maybe the week before. People skate on the pond in the winter and ducks swim there in the summer. There are cattails, redwing blackbirds, and koi fish. I have not seen turtles. Some years there is an osprey. The ducks are mallards, usually, but last fall there were hooded mergansers. After the ice goes out, after the ground warms up, then the koi bubble up out of the mud, in the shallows, among the cattails. That hasn't happened yet, this year. Soon. </p><p>Sometimes I walk on an outdoor track, round and round. I watch the sky turn colors as the sun rises. I listen to my favorite podcast, physicists and comedians. I see the sunlight hit the treetops. The light covers the earth as the sun seems to rise in the sky. It doesn't move though, does it? ... I just checked and it does, actually. The sun rotates and revolves. Our whole solar system is on the move. Just like me. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-57507032881182293862021-03-11T19:30:00.001-05:002021-03-11T19:30:22.636-05:00Time and Space<p> Reiki travels through time and space, somehow, magically. Or maybe it's physics, but if it is physics then we don't understand that science yet. Reiki is like prayer, like a wave. Reiki is the energy of love. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-53392280135142019722021-03-07T14:51:00.001-05:002021-03-11T19:18:31.300-05:00Don't Go There<p> It's hard to get good Mexican food in Maine. I'd heard good things about the place so I stopped for a take-out vegie burrito lunch after walking on a frozen lake. It is arctic-cold in Maine today. The sky is a deep blue and the sun is shining, but it is cold and windy. Hot spicy Mexican food appealed. </p><p>Until it didn't. The burrito came in a foil dish with a clear top. It was a soft pale tortilla wrap sitting in a pond of milky sauce. Not finger food then. I cut into the burrito with the plastic cutlery provided. Enormous chunks of grilled vegies spilled out. Fat slices of onion and pepper and whole mushrooms. The vegies were greasy, grilled, and al dente. The tortilla was soggy, as soft and bland as pasta.</p><p>There was a side of rice. The rice was salty and yellow. There were chips and salsa too, which I set aside, as the lunch was carby and fatty enough without adding chips. </p><p>It's hard to get good Mexican food in Maine. I'll keep looking. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-54019314391567559752021-01-07T14:34:00.002-05:002021-01-07T14:34:50.986-05:00The Space Between<p> I've been looking lately at the space between. Liminal zones. Between night and day, sleep and wakefulness, where a gray cloud meets a white cloud in a pastel pink sky. The space where things meet. Where the water on the pond becomes ice. How fall became winter and 2020 became 2021. Where is that moment, that molecule, that miracle where things change? Can you feel it/see it/hear it? And how about the spaces between people. Physical, emotional, and electrical spaces. Thinking about how the pandemic has changed those spaces between and those moments of meeting. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-31659433274791075072020-12-29T10:18:00.001-05:002020-12-29T15:09:30.710-05:002020 is Year 0<p> This is 2020, otherwise known as Year Zero, Year 0, the year of COVID. Last year was 2019, or 1 BC. One year before COVID. Next year will be Year 1, or 1 AC, the first year after COVID emerged. </p><p>I am reminded of year 1 BC, when I went to restaurants with friends and we never wore masks. We mingled at concerts and in stores. We could purchase our favorite toilet paper and the store shelves were always fully stocked. </p><p>Yes, back in 1 BC we had the social problems that stubbornly endure today: systemic income inequality, racism, sexism, and ignorance. This time of crisis, this Year 0, has revealed those social problems to even the sleepiest among us. A crisis is the perfect time to implement improvements. Let's wipe out student debt, tax the wealthy, institute national healthcare and free college education, and generally love each other and live in peace and prosperity evermore. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-88411015535969051092020-12-20T11:08:00.000-05:002020-12-20T11:08:39.835-05:00Vaccine<p> I get that government needs to continue, but direct-care workers should get the vaccine before members of Congress.</p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-43821496847796150182020-11-28T20:15:00.001-05:002020-11-28T20:15:30.095-05:00Click books....<p> Holiday shopping? Click images of books to purchase or click <a href="https://booklocker.com/books/4218.html" target="_blank">here</a></p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-83794760770456516542020-11-28T20:12:00.003-05:002020-11-28T20:12:49.508-05:00Empty Nest<p>Letting go of loved ones can be a challenge. Babies grow up, find their own way, and move on. Relationships change. Life seems to be a series of letting go. </p><p>Life is finding new trails and climbing new mountains. You may walk with a companion for a short way or a long while. In the end, we all walk alone. So what sustains you? What motivates you to keep walking?</p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-65163195127248783542020-11-28T19:58:00.002-05:002020-11-28T19:58:54.851-05:00Smiles<p> Now that we all wear masks, we must smile with our eyes. Smile with our posture. Smile with the energy we emanate. Smile ~</p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-14263586461775941212020-11-28T19:57:00.000-05:002020-11-28T19:57:43.525-05:00Home is where the heart is....<p> Home is in my heart. I carry my home with me wherever I go. Home is memories of the past, present connections, and hope for the future. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-5061817282389265202020-09-06T22:18:00.001-04:002020-09-06T22:20:33.784-04:00The Covid Life<p>We are out and about a bit more now. Masks, of courses, and physical distancing. Hand sanitizer everywhere, the runny kind. Fewer hugs. </p><p>Reiki and Reiki classes canceled. Distance only. Reiki on hold. </p><p>What about schools, parks, museums, concerts, and restaurants? Limited, closed, closed forever, gone. So many people and pastimes gone. Instead we have screenings, staycations, and sanitizers. We have people getting mad about masks, like it's a personal freedom to spread infection. People who believe COVID-19 is a myth. Crazy times. At least there is toilet paper in the grocery store now, but it's the thin pandemic toilet paper, like you get in a gas station or at a turnpike rest stop.</p><p>Kids are getting homeschooled, or going to school just a couple of days a week. School openings are delayed. Schools are opening, then closing. College kids getting kicked out of school for attending a party. </p><p>An outbreak from a wedding: the pastor shuns masks, he gathers his choir of long-skirted long-haired women and bearded men weekly in large gasping groups; the outbreak is associated with nearly 150 COVID cases and three deaths. </p><p>Crazy times. But life goes on, with gorgeous late summer days, small careful gatherings, an election, fall harvest, and Halloween decorations. Those who can, work from home. We all hope for a safe and effective vaccine that will be free and widely available. Hoping and waiting for better times for all. </p>meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-34980922757684833392020-07-10T17:45:00.000-04:002020-07-10T17:51:05.857-04:00SoundMostly, like now, it's quiet. Very very quiet. I can hear the faint whir of the propane refrigerator, the chirp of a bird, and... that is all. The loudest sound here is the chugging of the lobster boats. The boats head out around 5 am, about the time I like to wake up. They chug around the bay intermittently throughout the day and are mostly back around 2 pm. At least, that is how it's been this week. Maybe they go out and return around the same time every day, maybe their schedules change with the tides or the seasons; I don't know. I also don't know how they can set out in the damp opaque fog. If I were a lobsterfisherperson, I would want to wait for a sunny warm morning with long clear views.<br />
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Other noises here are seagulls calling, red squirrels chattering, and cormorants flapping as they take flight from the surface of the bay. It's quiet. I like quiet. Quiet is soothing, restful, and peaceful. Quiet is conducive to Reiki reflections.<br />
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There are lots of noises back at my house. The neighbors are bikers and have lots of biker friends and there is the blasting roar of Harleys at all hours. One day there was a biker funeral gathering. Without warning, 35 Harleys exploded up the street. Bikes and big loud pickup trucks parked all up and down the street, blocking driveways, mailboxes, and trash waiting for pickup. There were stacks of pizza boxes on tables on the front lawn. The mourners gathered in the middle of the street and on the lawn, sipping bottled beer and eating slices. The bikers I've spoken to have all been friendly and courteous. Other home noises are oil delivery trucks, fast loud cars, sirens, honking package and meal deliveries, and the hospital helicopter. Dogs bark all day, all evening, every day. None of that here. </div>
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It was noisy the other night. There was a terrific storm with thunder, lightning, wind, and rain. A hard rain fell. The windows rattled, rain pounded on the roof and deck, the sky flashed with diffuse light, and all the rocking chairs on the deck pitched forward and back as if inhabited by frantic caffeinated ghosts. The windows streamed with rivulets, like being in a carwash. It seemed like I was in a boat, in a storm at sea. I looked across the bay and saw a pink sunset behind storm clouds. Above me, a tempest. </div>
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It is quiet here. </div>
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meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-44934655563556159162020-07-09T18:15:00.001-04:002020-07-09T18:15:29.834-04:00BarkI was walking on a beach when I heard a bark. I turned around, expecting to see a dog. I did see a brown creature, and thought, briefly, that it was a large dog. It was a deer. It was four deer in a meadow. We watched each other for a while, then they continued to graze.<br />
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The beach was on an island, off another island; it was a two-bridge-island beach. I was the only human on the beach. COVID-19 dented the touristy influx, and drizzly 50-degree weather kept away the wise locals. So just me and the deer in the meadow. And the yellow rockweed, purple irises, large soft-edged slabs of pink granite, gray sky and waves, raucous crows, soaring seagulls, and bobbing daisies. The beach was U-shaped, with sand at the nadir of the U and pink granite sides. The spruce and pine forest came right down to the granite on one side, the other side was a bog and a long stretch of flat granite shoreline. There was a yellow boulder, shaped like a corn muffin. Lobster boats chugged past. The beach was a good place for buried thoughts to come bubbling up for inspection, but after four months of COVID isolation, I'm pretty much cleaned out of repressed memories and regrets.meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-44908303968102326712020-06-06T09:54:00.001-04:002020-06-06T09:54:26.404-04:00Police Force -> Peace ForceBlack Lives Matter.<br />
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What if we had a Peace Force instead of a Police Force? Officers would be educated on holding space instead of chokeholds. Officers would be educated on first aid, conflict resolution, recognizing symptoms of illness, anger management, Reiki, yoga, and meditation. Officers would hold their hands open for healing, instead of carrying sticks and guns. Officers would live in their communities and interact peacefully with citizens.<br />
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We need a Peace Force.<br />
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We also need systemic equality, income equality, clean air, green energy, more parks, and more education. We need Peace, not war, not a militarized police force. We need peace and love on our beautiful Earth.meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-18279795422602768982020-05-26T20:46:00.002-04:002020-05-26T20:46:59.193-04:00Small Voice, by Roland FlintOriginally published in Dakotah Territory 3, 1972.<br />It was my dream, and I remember telling it to him, and I must have been 6 years old, maybe 5.<div>
I came downstairs in the morning and he was there, in the kitchen.<br /><div>
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So I told him and he wrote it down at least 10 years before it was published in Dakotah Territory.<br />I remember trying to remember the word for those green things- olives. <br /><br />*<br />Roland Flint<br />Small Voice<br /><br />All night long<br />we were in the refrigerator - -<br />Kate and you and I and<br />milk and eggs and<br />those green things - - olives, And<br />it was warm and we laughed and <br />then someone opened the door,<br /><br />And afterward we were all angels. </div>
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meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-65097245049627463722020-05-22T13:13:00.002-04:002020-05-22T13:13:33.687-04:00Reiki is Do NothingWhen sharing Reiki in a hands-on or distance practice, do nothing. Be nothing, just be.<br />
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You might notice thoughts, visions, or impressions; let them float by. Don't try to block or pursue the thoughts; do nothing. Don't even share the thoughts with the client- your thoughts are your own, part of your own journey. Your client's thoughts, visions, and impressions are their journey. When sharing Reiki, you are a therapeutic presence for the client. Support their journey, not your own.<br />
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Be a therapeutic listener, a witness, and a nonjudgmental presence. Place your hands, fall into Reiki, and just be there. Do nothing.<br />
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Doing nothing is also doing everything. Use every bit of knowledge and experience. Apply ethical principles, support the client's insights, and be a kind loving presence. Do nothing and everything.meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-1189912069650323572020-05-19T10:03:00.003-04:002020-05-19T10:03:48.042-04:00Pandemic TimeI have my routines. I walk at sunrise and go to bed when it gets dark. I wash sheets and towels on Sundays. I do New York Times puzzles every morning before answering emails, grading papers, and doing my own schoolwork.<br />
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I listen to our state CDC report every afternoon at 2 pm. It's on the radio. Our Dr. Shah is magnificent: calm, compassionate, intelligent, and patient.<br />
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Mostly though, time is fluid. I lose track of the time of day, the day of the week, the month, and sometimes even the season. Easy to lose track of the season when it snows in May.<br />
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The days go by slow; the days go by fast. meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-36808737444130785482020-05-14T08:17:00.001-04:002020-05-14T08:19:05.197-04:00BalanceHow are you? Are you going in to work? Did you lose your job and your health insurance? Live alone or have a houseful? Tough times for sure.<br />
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What are you doing to stay sane, balanced, and full of light?<br />
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Me, I walk every morning and then come home to a computer screen. I teach online, so online meetings, phone calls, and grading papers and essays electronically. I'm taking a class too. Face glued to screen all day, every day.<br />
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So I walk in the morning before work. Often I walk around a pond. It is still cold in the mornings, 30 degrees, sometimes snowing, sometimes raining. I wear my winter jacket, hat, and gloves. Sometimes mist rises from the surface of the pond.<br />
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I saw the ducks return in the early spring. One day there were tiny ducklings. One morning there was roiling at the edge of the pond; koi were bubbling up out of the cold mud. Twisting and flashing bright orange pisces. Twice I've seen a shy Great Blue Heron. It startles, and with a leap and unfolding of big blue-gray wings, is airborne. It sees or hears me before I see it, so it startles me too. The father and uncle ducks have gleaming green heads and huddle protectively around the ducklings. There are fragrant blooming trees around the pond, magnolia and cherry. Yellow daffodils, pink phlox.<br />
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My morning walks keep me balanced.meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-52817338899598947302020-05-08T18:22:00.001-04:002020-05-08T18:22:16.985-04:00Take a deep breathI just sent distance Reiki to a client. It was a brief session. I cleared and prepared, then fell into the Reiki flow. I felt the pulse of universal life force energy. <div>
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Then I saw dusty old black suitcases, like old baggage that needs to be cleared away. And I felt like I had to do a lot of deep breathing and clearing away of old energy. And my hands felt so heavy. Heavy and intense. My hands have never felt like that before. Like they were weighted down. I usually feel so light and full of love during a session. But this was dust and heaviness. <div>
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If you are feeling discouraged or anxious, I hope that you will center yourself, clear away old baggage, and do some deep breathing exercises. Take a deep breath and puff it all out. Remember that you walk in the light. You are surrounded by love. </div>
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meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-87617596151964790222020-05-06T08:48:00.004-04:002020-05-06T12:09:46.733-04:00Fire Juggler and My Hot Hands<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiXY43pLPac" target="_blank">Fire Juggler</a> (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiXY43pLPac" target="_blank">click</a>) read My Hot Hands!<br />
<br />meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-74800385504926052732020-05-03T12:59:00.000-04:002020-05-06T12:13:01.629-04:00Digital DisruptionI wasn't sure that I could work from home. I love my sunny little office with desktop computer, coffee across the hall, and printer/scanner a few doors down. Work from home? I felt like a student who wants to take an exam in the same chair in which they listened to lectures. I didn't know if my knowledge, skills, and practices were portable. Could I think at home?<br />
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How could I accomplish the same work processes on a laptop, in my jammies, as I did on my work desktop, in my office, in my work clothes, surrounded by colleagues? Didn't I need things, people... those ... people and things I was used to? Could my mind make the switch?<br />
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Turns out: I could, no, and yes. Working at home is fine. I am able to access my files and documents from the work cloud. I have online and phone meetings with colleagues and students. I like working in yoga pants. I like the quiet of my house and neighborhood. My mind whirs away internally, dreaming, considering, thinking, and tuning out the external. Turns out I like working from home just fine.meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7189088172268249295.post-19241745360429896522020-05-01T15:28:00.000-04:002020-05-01T15:44:35.471-04:00Morning WalkI am working from home, on a computer or a phone all day. I have online meetings, papers to grade online, and lots of emails. Face in screen all day.<br />
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So before work, I go for a walk. I often walk around a pond at sunrise. There are new ducklings this week, little balls of fluff. I am surprised at how fast they can swim. Mom is protective and hissed at me once when I got too close, marveling at the small ones. The uncles are protective too; the males gather in a circle around the ducklings when people walk by. A magnolia tree is loaded with floppy white blossoms. One morning I saw a Great Blue Heron.<br />
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Walk, work, work.... the days blend. What day is it? What time? Pandemic distancing and grey spring days, I lose track of time. But I take that walk nearly every morning.meredith ~ reiki nursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11213297579989461005noreply@blogger.com