jakorte's blog

Did you ever get the feeling you were missing something major?
I made a pretty perfect plan for myself on the way home from Dublin.
It went something a little specifically like this:
Upon arriving at my apartment I would snack, shower, and sleep until I awoke.
Then, on Wednesday, I would get groceries and maybe do laundry.

I slept from 7:00 PM Tuesday evening until 4:30 AM on Wednesday morning. Stumbled around a bit, took some motrin, ate an apple and went back to bed. Please note, I specifically and proudly use the word bed because that is where I lay. Bed sleeping became a renewed habit in Ireland, because there really wasn’t any other choice. There weren’t any recliners available in my friends’ homes or in the hotels I stayed at.

Around 11:45 AM, I awoke again. I started laundry due to the future necessity of undergarments. I checked my phone, responded to a text with a bit of alarming news, and showered. Not because I need one, but because I could. Showers are a little more complicated in Ireland. On my way to Costco, I had a momentary panic that there was something I was supposed to be doing today. I checked my phone calendar to be sure I wasn’t missing any appointments. I wasn’t.

So,I kept to my plan. Groceries put away, turkey loin in the oven, I decided a nap was in order. I have just achieved some warm kitty snuggling when it hit me.

“Oh,” I thought, “it’s Tuesday, I have to get a newsletter done!”
Lucky for me I have a few week’s worth of ideas and topics I’d already been working on. Unlucky for me, when I turned on the computer, I realized it wasn’t Tuesday. It was Wednesday... afternoon.

I used to email the newsletter on Wednesdays. I don’t remember when I switched sending them on Tuesday nights, but I’m sure it was a resolution to a scheduling issue so I wouldn’t miss one. Seeing as I haven’t missed a Midweek Encouragement Newsletter in the five years since it began, I am incredibly pleased that I can say, technically, it is still Wednesday and therefore this newsletter still falls within the range of midweek.

This particular newsletter is certain to fall a bit short by being neither fascinating or encouraging, but I am thinking of you and of me and of my one-year commitment that never ended. Having come across time-zones, and still a bit fuzzy, I thank you for your patience today. I also want thank you for your responses over the years. What started as a way to encourage others to see the more positive side of life has turned itself around. Your kind words, argumentative thoughts, and the fact that you haven’t unsubscribed during my most difficult times, have become the midweek encouragement I have needed to keep going.

Oh, and by the way, Ireland was, as my Irish friends would say, “Gooorrgee-ous."