Back in December, I announced that renewal would be my guiding word for the year. I followed up in January with some initial thoughts and then again at the end of the first quarter of the year. Overall, this quarter has had its fair share of setbacks and frustrations, but I have continued to be guided by my word, and I’m not losing heart!

Most of my frustrations have been related to physical renewal, but these tend to bleed through into the rest of my life since physical health and energy levels impact many of the things I want to do. My general physical blah-ness was something I wanted to address this year, but the blah has just increased despite my focused intentions. I guess perimenopause will do that. The imbalance of hormones seems to have made my migraines worse and caused irregular and then daily bleeding. Hopefully, the recent procedure will resolve at least the second lot of symptoms. Overlaid with all this, I got a stress fracture in my second metatarsal. The combination of this and the migraines derailed my normal training. I continued to do some bike cardio and strength training normally for my upper body/core and with the machines at the gym for my legs, but even this was hampered by the migraines. All the gains I made with running fitness and body composition in the first quarter of this year were lost in the second quarter, although joining the gym will be a net positive for my fitness. I also settled into regularly eating high-protein breakfasts and am trying the Ready State Mobilisations. For the migraines, I saw a neurologist, and he prescribed a more effective medication for my vertigo. I’m also keeping a headache diary for my follow-up appointment in August.

This quarter, I did more reading in areas that intersect with the concept of renewal. A number I finished just after the end of the quarter, but I finished and reviewed “Living the Sabbath” in May. Wirzba’s stress on the importance of delight led me to lean into my Good Things Friday posts as a way of paying attention and taking delight in the good things around me. I usually do the list for the previous day as part of my mornings. I also thought a bit about routines and will work on having a bit more routine in my life. I struggle a bit because I keep on having interruptions, and I want to be open to good interruptions. I guess I need flexible routines, which I have started exploring. I have managed to embed a bible reading and prayer time at the start of my day. I have also deepened my involvement in our new church, leading a mainly music group and small group, attending the monthly ministry leadership meetings and leading a few Sunday night services. We have been able to spend time with friends and family, including some couple of hour-long one-on-one catchups for me with some friends. My winter veggie garden is growing well and my worms are eating through about half our kitchen scraps.

For the next quarter:

• I will concentrate on strength and cardio, lose the weight I have put on, and keep supplementing with calcium/vitamin D for my bones and magnesium for migraines.
• Increase my walking distance and speed and start a little bit of running
• I have a follow-up with the neurologist
• and gynaecologist
• My mum’s 80th birthday party.
• Weekend away in Sydney
• Work on my routines
• Expand my morning prayer/bible reading time
• Work through the Built to Move book. Do daily mobilisations.