makes me happy

In my element

Last night when I was telling stories onstage, my husband captured this perfect ‘getting the precise details’ gesture of mine. I recognized how it feels from how it looks.

A blue-tinged photo of me telling a story onstage at a storytelling festival.
A blue-tinged photo of me telling a story onstage at a storytelling festival. The back of several people’s heads can be seen at the bottom of the photo. I’m a middle-aged woman with short brown hair wearing a blue tunic, I have my right hand outstretched with the palm downward and my left hand has one finger outstretched in the ‘let me tell you one thing’ gesture.

Early Morning

It’s 6:14am and I have been awake for at least an hour.

This is the second time this week that I have been lying awake in the early morning listening to my husband sleep and just letting my mind wander wherever it wants to go.

I’m not distressed about being awake and there’s nothing bothering me, I’m just…not asleep.

I know this is pretty common for women my age and if it starts happening regularly I will work on some habits in hopes of sleeping better.

But, for now, I’m perfectly happy to lie awake musing until I either fall asleep or I feel the need to get up and make tea.

This morning, I’m sitting up in bed with my Moroccan Mint tea brewing in a cup next to me on one side and himself sleeping on the other.

Not a bad start to a day, really.

Storytelling week!

Last week, I was organizing events for other people’s fun.

I had fun, too, of course but when you have to remember all the details, it’s hard to really sink into what you’re doing.

This week, though, I’m telling stories at two different festivals and I’ll have to do is show up and tell.

I don’t have to figure anything out.

I don’t have to remember any details.

I don’t have to make sure we have supplies.

I just have to tell stories.

I’m really looking forward to it!

I’m backdating this

This evening, I ended up on a roll and I got a backlog of things done.

That felt great and I was very excited about that until I realized I had forgotten to post here before midnight.

But that highlights a fundamental disagreement I have tracking daily challenges on a device.

To me, I have done something on a given day if I do it between when I get up and when I go to bed.

Using my phone to track the fact that I did something leads to being tied to chronological time so if I do something after midnight it’s actually the next day.

Now, I get that and I understand that it is literally the next day.

However, when it comes to things I want to do daily, I am way more interested in my experience of time than in doing something on a specific date.

I haven’t gone to bed on my Friday so…

like the title says, I’m backdating this.

Starting off calm

I am starting this week with a feeling of calm.

I have made some lists, I have clarified my tasks, I have included rest and relaxation.

I am hoping that this conscious preparation can really help.

A photo of tiny, purple, daisy-like flowers among some grass
Image description: a photo of clusters of tiny, purple, daisy-like flowers amongst some grass. I took this photo on my walk yesterday.