Author: Christine

Christine http://www.mombie.com I'm a writer/storyteller/director/creativity & lifestory coach with a black belt in ITF Taekwon-do. I read voraciously and I write like my fingers are on fire. I'm the founder and Co-Chair of the Association for the Arts in Mount Pearl and I'm the current president of the St. John's Storytelling Festival. I bake a mean chocolate chip cookie.

Before and After

A daytime photo of my patio last week, most of the ‘floor’ is clear and the top and bottom of the railing is exposed . There are just two bigger piles and a light layer of snow on it.
A nighttime photo of my patio completely covered with snow that is deep enough to reach 2/3 of the way up to the string of coloured lights on the rails.

Bad Weather…again

Over the next few days, we may have up to 80cm of snow.

I’m lucky enough that I have a warm, dry home to stay in, I have lots to eat, and I have good company, so I don’t have big complaints.

I just have small ones.

I was enjoying the fact that the snow was receding.

I was enjoying walks that weren’t slippery or very cold.

I wanted to feel like spring was coming soon.

But my biggest complaint is that I have a lot of work to do over the next few days.

If we’re going to have snow days, I wish I could just hang out with my family and enjoy them.

Glerg.

Not a fan of hoodies

Well, *I* am but KP is not.

A photo of my dog, Khalee, in a green hooded sweatshirt, standing in our kitchen. Her hood is up over her ears and she looks nonplussed. My hand is under KP’s chin.

Add more relaxation

So, I have been carrying around a lot of tension for a while.

It’s not related to anything in particular. I’m not up at night worried about specific things. I’m not distracted by my concerns in one are of my life.

My nervous system seems to have gotten jangled and it just doesn’t get completely unjangled.

I can feel totally relaxed in the moment – which seems unjangled, right? – and then the smallest thing will go awry and I’ll be in a complete twist.

Which shows me that while I felt pretty relaxed in the first place, my body, my nervous system was actually just on guard.

It kind of reminds me of how, in the movies, you see soldiers who grab some sleep before a mission but if something wakes them, they are on high alert instantly, as if they had never been asleep.

I don’t mean that I want to be groggy or to take a long time to respond to something but I don’t think the instant response is necessary for me – I’m not a soldier, after all- and I don’t think it is good for me.

In fact, I know it’s not good for me.

So, all of that is to say that I have been spending time doing relaxation exercises and listening to bilateral music.

I’ve only been working on this for 5 days and it is already helping.

So, of course, my brain is already trying to optimize the situation, trying to find the optimal time, or the perfect music, and to question how long I will have to do this before I am “better.”

Oh, brain, I know you want to help but this is not the right approach.

Luckily, I’ve been through this kind of thing before with my brain so I know what to do.

I’ve decided to do this for a month – one relaxation exercise and a certain type of music – and then I will review and decided how to continue.

Hopefully, that will keep me from trying to make things perfect in the meantime.

I really don’t need the internal arguments, I’ve got enough to think about.

Afternoon tea

Today, tea is not a genteel affair.

There are no tiny cakes.

No pinkies held aloft.

There’s just me and my mug,

Seeking soothing ritual.