Oddly, the thing that has signified our household’s return to mental health has been… shopping, as well as the same amount of exercise. Ola has been going to Curves, eating well, losing weight and being really happy. Greg just took his thrashed bicycle in to the bike shop yesterday where he was told that it needed a complete overhaul because he’s been riding it so much. I’ve been keeping track of my swimming and I’ve already gone five and a half miles this month. Of course it’s just back and forth miles and if I were on the road I wouldn’t have even swum to work yet, but it’s keeping me feeling pretty okay. However, it the shopping that’s odd.

As you read in the previous post, I hate to shop. I hate stores, I hate people in stores and I hate unfettered capitalism and the marketing of desires generally. I’m a pretty happy person — and there is stuff I like such as books, food, warm socks and postage stamps — but shopping to me is only a necessary evil. So, when it’s grey and gloomy outside I don’t do it at all. Then one day around when the buds were coming out on some of the trees, I said “Crap! there are things we need!” So thanks to the miracle of online ordering, we got a 250 GB hard drive ($100!) and a bunch of writable CDs. I got a travel sleeve for my laptop and some old postage stamps on eBay. Greg has a new pair of sneakers and some lounge pants. My Dad sent us some Valentine’s Day apples and pears a bit late. So, we have an impressive stack of boxes and no longer feel like we’re hunkering in our miserable little room waiting until we can go outside again. We’re making CDs for friends and backing up our trove of movies and teevee shows to the hard drive. I can use my laptop without burning my lap, and I’ll have stamps in hand for sending off postcards on my quickie trip to Boston next week.

Next week starts travel season for me. I’m going to Boston to the Public Library Association conference, then to Houston for the Texas Library Association conference, then to New York, then to Ohio, then to Greg’s graduation and there are a few more places on the list over the Summer. It’s been a while since I’ve done any traveling (six whole weeks by my estimation) so I’m ready for it.

The post town meeting times have been good around here. All of the libraries I work with have operating funds for another year. The cafe that tempted us with free baklava opens tomorrow and should change the social face of this town somewhat. I’ve had more people come to drop-in time at the technical center’s computer lab this week than I had in all of February. People are slowly moving their bones. Even though it hasn’t been a particularly nasty Winter, there’s something about the lengthening days and the muddy roads and the returning birds that kicks people in the behind saying “Get out of your house.”

My Mom visited this weekend. We set her up with a birthday blog as well as some homemade magnets that I somehow neglected to take any pictures of. She took Greg out shopping for some dress clothes (visible in this picture) as an early graduation present. I tagged along because it seemed like the thing to do. I’m not sure when I became completely and totally unable to exist in any sort of shopping environment, but after one department store and three shoe stores I was ready too die and/or kill someone. I think I used to be able to do this. I know I am unable to do it now. I wonder what other subtle changes have come over me after three years of rural living with no months-long Seattle interludes?