Good morning! Welcome, would you like to come in?

Our lovely host for #weekendcoffeeshare, Natalie of Natalie the Explorer, is taking a break but do I need an excuse to talk about life? Nah…

The garden and I are at a stand-still at the moment. Though the last frost date is looming (May 5), the temperature is not high enough for warm weather crops to go in the ground which is the result of the 10-degree-Fahrenheit rise and fall each week accompanied by rain. Everything in the garden now are frost hardy, all planted middle to late March, all growing pretty slowly, thanks to the weird weather.

I’m also holding off on garden task because of my back. Due to the bad weather, my back is aching again. I was woken up in the middle of the night on Wednesday with a sudden stabbing pain in my back. It hasn’t stopped since.

My last blood test showed inflammation and I don’t think the doctor is going to tell me where. I can feel pain all over the top half of my body from my neck to the waist. I had my neck and spine x-rayed over a week ago and it showed mild degeneration of the c4 and c5. I bet the doctor will say it’s wear and tear. No big deal except for the constant neck pain.

My emotions this week has been low. I’m not certain what it is – the noise or the constant being told “shut up” by my mom. I’m not sure whether I can even have a conversation with my mom anymore. The only thing she talks about these days are either politics or the stock market. She refuses to hear about my triumphs and praises about the garden.

After returning home from the Tulip Festival last week, I couldn’t even get two words in before she told me to shut up, she was watching a YouTube video of a summary of the day’s stock market news.

Though I do pay attention to the stock market, I don’t pay close attention, merely a general overview. I don’t feel like how well a stock is doing is in my control. The only thing I can control is the stock I choose to buy and sell.

The only thing I look forward to now is to talk to my protégé each day at work to answer any questions he has about his tasks. Oops, did I mention I now have a protégé at work – a new hire which will eventually take over some of my tasks so I can transition into other duties? I think we’re making great progress but there’s still work to be done before I am truly comfortable to let my trainee roam free.