better

Yeah!!!! I feel so much more like myself today. Whew. At last. I had two coaching meetings, worked on a newsletter, made cards, and fixed supper. It's all so much easier when you aren't SICK!

Had some iced gourmet coffee today. Think I like the hot stuff better, even though I was sweaty by the time I walked to the shop. They're starting to recognize me there. Should I worry?

The days are getting hotter. I mean, they're always hot. But we're just a month or so away from the hottest part of the year, when temps hover in the 100's for much of the time.

I have begun re-reading the book that started this whole blog going in the first place. It's "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp. I absolutely DEVOURED it the first time I read it and now I'm going back more slowly. It's because of her book that I decided I'd take a photo of beauty every day for 1000 days. So far it's been a GREAT exercise.

(BTW: that's another of those words—"read". Why are the past tense and present tense pronounced differently, although they are spelled exactly the same. Whacked!!)

Anyway, a phrase in chapter two caught me yesterday, something about "self-protecting by self-distracting". It totally resonated with me. Why do I play that dumb video game, and watch TV even when there's nothing on? Why do I need to be numbed and diverted? 

I don't want to live like that. I want to capture and feel every moment. I want to savor. I want to learn and grow. So today, although I did play the video game a little and watched about an hour and a half of TV, I turned both of them off more quickly than normal.

One thing that helped is that the power was off for a few hours this morning. As all my electric devices slowly ran out of battery, I realized that I was soon going to have no other choice than to read an actual book! Nice. Except I was also unable to get a shower, since we didn't have any water either.

As I look ahead, I'm beginning to look forward to "un-distracting" myself. I have some books I want to read. I have some questions I want to research. There are a few things I want to learn. I want to get back into a regular routine of exercise. Come on, now. Carpé diem.

The kitty woke us up at around 4 this morning. My Mr. got up and I felt really bad about it, any my mind started going down gloomy paths. I struggled my way to the willow tree, always feeling the thoughts swirling in my mind, blocking my path. I found a sleeping bag there this time. I just curled in and concentrated on the peace and beauty of the setting. I woke up a few hours later.

Unfortunately, I was not always aware of the willow tree as I went through the day. How do I recapture the perspective I had before?

So I think that's it for tonight. The willow tree and a book await me. OK. I admit; it might be an e-book. I haven't decided yet. But it's a step in the right direction.