"Go outside and get the stink blown off"

"Go outside and get the stink blown off" These are words my mom must have said to me on a weekly base when I was growing up. I don't know what led to her saying. Was I getting grumpy, acting up, was I bored, pale, snippy, tired, edgy??? I have no idea- well that's not entirely true. Her words sound off in my head even now when I'm a bit out of sorts or feeling caged up.

Going up in Colorado, even in the winter, I still had outside chores. I was suppose to water the cattle. In the winter, this also meant, chipping ice out of the tank, so there was room for fresh water. It meant being extra careful not to run the tank over. After it was filled, I needed to stretch out the hose and carefully lift it up over my head. From one end to the other end until all the water had run out. Do you know how much trouble it is to thaw a hose in the middle of winter??? Do you know how unhappy your family memebers are with you if you freeze a hose?

I now live in the city, I don't have cows I need to water. I walk my dogs most everyday but it isn't quite the same as accomplishing a chore. This afternoon it was sunny and all I wanted to do was go outside and clean out my rock/herb garden bed outside my living room window.

This whole day I had been plaged with a heavy feeling of dispair. I took a little break and my mom's advice and went outside. I pulled weeds, cut off perenials and moved around little rocks. It wasn't a big job but I paused from my day and put my hands in rich winter soil. Smelling the sage leaves as I raked, I looked at the dark soil, saw little worms. This pause was a little bit of heaven. Taking me less than 1 hour I went outside and "got the stink blown off" and in the midst of my mothers advice my day was so much sweeter.

Wishing you a good trip outside,
Denise