Six months into 2025 and we're halfway through another year. I have decided that for the month of June I'm not going to travel to any horse shows, but instead spend some dedicated time at home, writing articles, getting organized, and recharge my half depleted batteries.
So far, I have covered 10 CDI's in four months and photographed 1,125 combinations. On the home screen of my computer there is a folder called "Photo reports - BEHIND" which has 12 folders in which photos sit ready, prepared for publication. They never saw the light of day. For instance, I have two fabulous folders of the CDIO Compiegne and one of the CDIO Lier. I have a half finished blog about the wonderful Saturday at the Nations Cup in Compiegne, where I had a total blast watching the most interesting class of the year so far. I jotted down so many cool impressions that need to be worded into a story. Not done! So much unfinished work and so many stories untold.
Good intentions are the first step towards the completion of a task but I constantly run out of time, and when I'm taking a lunch break at home, I feel guilty for not working (even) harder. I don't have this feeling when I leave the house and take a full day off to go to a museum, a lecture series, or to (rarely) meet up with friends. At home my computer is my shackle and ball and the constant reminder of duty. It's like the "Palantir" in Lord of the Rings, a magical crystal ball used for scrying and telepathic communication, to see events in the past and future. Those using a palantir had to "possess great strength of will and of mind" to direct the stone to its full capability. Of course in LOTR it goes wrong and at times I see the evil eye of Sauron while I'm being sucked into the computer screen.
A month's break gives me time not to feel permanently overwhelmed, to structure the tasks at hand more, and to enjoy the small things in life. Today, we cut the grass and will be making hay, hopefully rolled on Friday. It brings about "hay fever," the anxiety that it might rain and destroy the crop, but the forecast seems favourable. Such a relief.
Hope you are all having a great start of the early summer and are getting ready for more excitement to come.... in July. For now, I keep calm and carry on.