Regina, or: On the road again

So I was out on the frozen flatnesses of the Canadian Prairies (like the "boundless and bare … lone and level sands" of Ozymandias, with added snow) for Christmas (with Sis and BIL and their kids and our parents), and a goodish time was had by all. The only hint of trouble, significantly larger than a single cloud on the horizon, could be summed up in the phrase "getting old sucks." Not that anyone present actually said that, but I think I'm right in saying that it was on everyone's mind at some point or other. It would take longer than I have to explain this in full, so let's leave that for a future post.

(I'm in the lounge at YQR waiting for the first leg of my trip to Milwaukee; if all goes well I'll have another half hour to write. Flights are being cancelled but mine is still marked "on time.")

Just by the way: I infer from reading IP logs (and know from conversation) that some people who read this blog also follow me on Facebook, and you may have noticed modified (expurgated) versions of some of these posts appearing on FB. There is a reason for this, and I would ask you not to refer to my blog in comments on FB.

Sis introduced me to something new and wonderful this Christmas: yoga. She's been taking classes for some time now, and brought me along to three sessions this week. I loved it, despite my usual agony of apprehension before trying anything new. The exercises (mostly nearly-static stretch-and-hold) were enjoyable in themselves, as well as showing me aspects of my physical being that I'd never known. I came to the airport directly from the last class, and in the car I made a first New Year's resolution: I will meet Sis and Friend in the class next Christmas, and I will hold [that particular pose whose name I've forgotten] with my legs flat on the ground and my hand on my ankle. Friend snorted politely and Sis said "ooh, good luck," and I agree that it's pretty damned optimistic given my current state of stiffness and disrepair, but a man's reach must exceed his grasp as the poet said. It's a target to aim for, and I am determined to continue on this path. I was surprised to find how strongly the exercises overlapped with our mindfulness practices in Susan's meditation group, which perhaps just goes to prove how little I know about yoga or mindfulness.

Nowhere do I feel more of a fake and a failure than here with Sis and her family. Another resolution: I will clean and repaint the apartment, and put in a stick or two of furniture-for-enjoyment, before they arrive in June. And a third: I will restart my meditation practice, and Susan's participation in the SL group, and this time I'll take it seriously. I have gone as far as my dilettantistic curiosity will take me, and I have seen that this is not far enough.

'Tis time. Next post from Milwaukee, gods and terrorists willing.