Friday 19th May 2023, 2:45 pm

I’m very much ready for the weekend.

It’s almost nearly time for me to pack up my bags before a walk across the city to the bus that will take me home and to the weekend. A weekend of light chores, Zelda, short walks, reading, and cooking. Some of those things, at least.

If the weather is nice, and it looks as if it will be, I’ll head for a walk with Max to try some forest bathing. Forest bathing was this week’s suggested action in the Year of Action campaign and it sounds like something I very much want to do.

I’m not a massive fan of bathing in the bath, to be honest. I get too hot and am too big to sit comfortably in the average household bath. Whilst bathing I spend most of the time worried that if I move a bit I might send a wave up the wall or over the edge of the bath. It’s not a very relaxing thought.

I do love the idea of a bath though. Lying in the hot water and slowly unwinding. I like the idea of the ritual of a bath washing away the stress of the day. But I don’t like that idea more than I dislike the feeling of being squeezed into a bath and worried about spillage. And I don’t have the space or money for a bigger bath.

But forest bathing involves none of that worry. All the nice ritual bits, but surrounded by nature. No squeezing in. Way more space. All good.

I should do it shouldn’t I? Make the effort. I shouldn’t fill the weekend with chores and Zelda and sitting down in the house with my cats and surrounded by my things. I should take a short walk to a wooded area and find a nice spot to have a little sit down.

It’s almost the weekend. Two or so hours to go.

This is part of a series that I’m writing over the next year, documenting the Year of Action campaign, and some of the things I’m doing to take action in 2023. #2023yearofaction