Hilaria

April Fool's.  A concept that took hold in the Middle Ages, though much farther back the Romans had a festival around the same calendar period called Hilaria.  Considering my track record with the gods during this, my least favorite month, that word works really well for me.

I make an effort each April to stay positive and mindful; I try not to anticipate worse case scenarios--self-fulfilling prophecies and all that--but in a month historically fraught with memories and loss, pain and chaos, it's hard not to dwell...there are just too many monsters under my bed.

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In the spirit of taking charge, moving forward, being in this moment, I decided to start my new regime of exercise on April 1st.  I made up a schedule, alternating with one day of treadmill, one of t'ai chi, followed by meditation, starting this afternoon.

The weather has warmed after several days of wind and rain and the grass is too tall for the dogs, so a few hours ago I thought to do a quick lawn mowing before the treadmill workout.

An hour and a half later, I'm revising my schedule.  Yard work counts as exercise.  I mowed, edged, swept, weeded and hauled the rubbish across the road to hurl down the ridge.  My shirt was stuck to my chest/back, sweat was running freely down my red face, my hair plastered to my neck.  I didn't mean to get so carried away, but with one thing leading to another, well, what can I say?

Still. The point of exercise is to sweat, get the heart pumping, move, stretch, utilize those muscles. Mission accomplished.

And only 29 days to go until May...