I'm approaching my mid-winter slump where the cold and snow start to defeat my optimism. It's hard to enjoy hiking when you can't get very far due to the snow depths on trails. Plus, I usually get a cold about this time of year and sure enough - it hit me this weekend.
Friday was my mom's birthday and I had planned on having birthday cake with her that evening and enjoying a night of television - NBC's Dracula with Jonathan Rhys Meyers ('nuff said). But at 8:30pm there was a knock on the door; a stranger had gotten his car stuck in the alley behind our house and needed help. I threw on my boots and jacket and went out to see if I could get him unstuck.
He was not prepared for winter weather, only wearing a business suit and dress shoes - no coat, gloves or boots. So I went about digging out his tires with my snow shovel, applying kitty litter and Ice Melt... even using my own car's floor mats in an effort to get his car out. No dice.
After an hour of digging, he finally reached one of his friends via telephone and with all 3 of us working at it, we were able to get him unstuck.
By this time, though, it was 10:30pm and I was exhausted. More exhausted than I should have been. And since I had to be at work the next day, I ended up just collapsing into bed for the night.
The next day I was definitely not feeling well... dizzy, light-headed, earache and just exhausted. I made it through the work day, but immediately went to sleep and stayed asleep for 12 hours. I seriously cannot remember the last time I did that.
Sunday was my only day off from 10-hour work days the previous week and I really needed to get Charlie some exercise. Unfortunately I still felt like crap. I resorted to taking her to a local park to hike around the lake and play some fetch. After 45 minutes of hiking and playing, I was completely drained and went home for a 2-hour nap.
Charlie is definitely bummed out by my lack of availability and reduced play time. Life can definitely be a struggle at times. And even though I'm feeling tired and can't wait for this less-than-friendly winter season to be gone, I continue to remind myself that you can't enjoy the good days if you don't have a bad one every now and then.
Here's to hoping the bad days are numbered and something good is on its way.