Stretching

GASP! Picture of yoga!

There’s controversy over yoga in Christian circles, ya’ll. And since it’s no surprise that I’m Catholic, I know about this. Still sorting through it all. 🙂

Anyway! I went and yoga’ed and snapped this shot of Jessica as we were wrapping up.

Is there a rule against snapping yoga-pictures? I feel like there is. Sorry, world.

There are several stories that tie in, here:

1. My Pants.

I forgot to bring them. I was wearing a skirt and leggings instead of yoga pants for yoga Wednesday in yogaland. For the record: leggings are not pants. So, I get off of work and remember that my sibs gave me a bag of clothes to donate and that that bag was in the trunk of my car. I was like, “Maybe there are shorts inside!”

So I looked through it. Of course there weren’t.

I thought of texting some of the guys I know who work downtown, “Hey, do you have a spare pair of gym shorts in your car?”
BUT I DIDN’T.

Then I remembered! There were left-over clothing items from an event on one of the floors in my building. So I traipsed up there and found a pair…of XL sweat pants.

You bet your boots I wore those bad boys.

You bet your boots they were awkwardly large.

Humility!

2. Jessica.

My sister was like, “Jessica still talks to you?”

This was because the Camino was rough to all of us, but particularly mean to Jessica.

But, Jessica still talks to me.

There’s an old fable in my family that we break in our friends hard and fast…we make them do the crazy, weird things early-on to test them out.

It’s not true.

But, the Camino was definitely crazy and hard…and Jessica is still around. Hooray!

3. Time/ space/ grace

When I returned from the Camino, I returned to people who really needed me, but I was still exhausted myself. So I’ve been working super hard to juggle all of these back-home things. (Until my midnight-shift sister prompted last night, “Stop already. It’s bedtime.”) The problem is, I’m just getting more tired.

Side story: I know someone who recently went through a breakup. It’s tough. I keep reminding that person that what they’re going through is stressful, and to respect that and work through it without ignoring hardship or pretending it away.

I’ve decided to give myself time and space and grace (and I write this as it’s approaching way later than I want to be awake!)

• Time. Sometimes things take more that five minutes. Sometimes they take days. That’s OK
• Space. In yoga we practiced breathing in and out…it was so good to refocus and reset, away from distractions and stressors.
• Grace. Grace, to me, is handing out mercy and understanding to particular situations.

I plan on giving myself time this weekend; I’m going camping. Almost by myself, but really with my sister (because, really, a tent alone? More guts than I have.) And I plan on writing and sitting and staring at nature. I plan on giving myself space. No electronics, no friends (except Christine), etc. I plan on giving myself grace in the form of a state camping site.

Amen.

*exhale*