Finding Fun and Fungi with a Fun Guy

"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down."                                                     -Lily Tomlin

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of closing the school library for the year, planning and diving head first into a small reno project at home, nursing an old soccer injury, and kicking off summer vacation.

Every year, April sneaks up on May and jump-scares it into a frenzy. The end of the school year is always a combo of testing, awards day, field day, inventory, ordering, and year-end reporting. Preparing a punch list that seems impossible to accomplish––and then it's finished, you're out of school for the summer, and now you're making entirely different plans.

So, for the old soccer injury. It is old as in a couple weeks. It is a soccer injury as in, while shagging balls for a bunch of students during our annual field day, I decided to kick a ball and felt as if I had thrown out my hip. The pain subsided and I continued my 4.5-5 mile daily walking routine even though my hip complained like a whiny baby.

School ended two Fridays ago at noon and, by Saturday, my husband and I had started the redo we had been promising our old Master Bedroom since we built the new one. I'll show and tell in an upcoming post.

"But what about hiking?" you ask.

That Sunday afternoon, we headed up to Pilot Knob a) because it is a fairly close drive and b) because we were really exhausted. We logged 6.5 hot, muggy miles and came out of the woods covered in ticks, but we did spot some neat fungi.

Here's the down side. The reno work, e.g. climbing up and down a ladder, scraping overhead, etc., followed by the hike, took a toll on the hip and forced me to slow down and take stock.

So, last week:

• I broke a 9.5 month streak for meeting my walking goal every day,
• I promised never to kick a soccer ball again, 
• My husband and I celebrated 39 years since jumping the broom,
• And we shared a great meal with our greatest accomplishment at one of our favorite Nashville spots, Burger Up.

This week, I'm back on my walking game and I have a new and very different punch list going. So, watch for a Hearth & Home post here in the next few weeks tentatively entitled, Be Our Guest.

Until then, be well and take good care.

Mona B