On the joys of a dirty weekend

Spring is on its way.  The days are getting longer and the sap is rising.  In recent days misty mornings have given way to gloriously sunny days.  I have been yearning to get out into the garden again.  I did it this weekend, donning my gardening trousers – a wonderful pair of jeans I picked up in Singapore when I visited my brother and sis’-in-law a few years back, with great big pockets on each leg which are just perfect for carrying phones and sundry tools.

First, there was the task of emptying some of the tools that have been in my dining room (along with sundry kitchen items) into my new garden shed.  My small collection of tools had a place in my old kitchen but not in the new, and besides, it is no longer a small collection.  Last week the last remnants of rubbish from the building work were taken away so a second task was to hose down the patio (which, by the way, is far larger than I ever remembered it).

I have been chomping at the bit to start planting and this, too, is something I joyfully embarked on.  This year I have decided to include runner beans in my garden having not eaten them for years following an unfortunate incident as a child which has become legendary in the Nesbit family.  This was a case of “I feel sick” “Just one more mouthful” before I was indeed sick.  Perhaps in a few months’ time I’ll be reporting back – was it just that I was sick one unfortunate time, or do I simply not like broad beans?  I’ll let you know.

So, wellies on, I have been revelling in the great outdoors this weekend – or at least my modest share of it.  I am relishing the dirt that has lodged itself beneath my finger nails and grateful that, today, my coaching appointments will all be by phone.  A part of me wishes I’d discovered such joys much earlier in my life.  It has always been true for me that the more I am connected with nature and its cycle of seasons, the more I am well and at peace with myself.  Even as I write my sense of well-being is stepping forward to greet me.

As you are reading this, I wonder what you have been doing this weekend, week, month, year… that nurtures your sense of health and well-being.  It seems to me that leadership includes, as much as any other duty, the responsibility to model self-care to those we lead.

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