I am getting a late start tonight–starting after midnight East Coast time. I spent the evening lazing around with my younger sister and her family. I smile as I think of them–it’s fun watching them in all their normality, listening to their back and forth, and once again remembering what it was like to sit at a dinner table with family. It was a good time.
The day started as it often does: I woke a little earlier than I’d wanted, my mind swirling with a few anxieties about work and bills and taxes that need to be done. I rose, turned on my coffee, brushed my teeth, then climbed back into bed to write in my morning journal. I’ve come to really appreciate my morning journal writing practice. It’s become a way for me to pour out onto the page any anxiety I’m feeling, thoughts, concerns, sadness. I do my best to keep my pen moving, otherwise my mind wanders too much like a restless puppy who can’t quite light and stay still. If I keep my pen moving my mind either stays on what I’m writing about or my writing becomes gibberish. Either way I keep my focus a little better.
I could have easily gotten into a funk today–it’s kind of what I do on the weekends. It’s a pattern that I recognize and so I interrupt it and will keep doing so as best I can until I can shift it into a more positive direction. I talked to my sister early in the afternoon: it turns out she was in a bit of a funk too. We talked for over an hour and a half about a wide variety of topics, including what we do when we’re cranky and wondering about the role genetics plays in our having the blues. By the end of our conversation we were both feeling better and I had decided to stay home. Then a little while later she invited me to come over for a slumber party. She knows I hate to drive home late in the evening and so invited me to spend the night. After thinking about it for a while, I threw some clothes and necessities into a bag, grabbed some things for the dog and the two of us headed out.
I am grateful for the invitation. I knew I needed to be pulled from my house and out of the blues that could have easily settled in on me. She too needed something to lift her out of the cloud that had hovered over her for much of the day. I hope she felt a little better for our having spent time together. I decided not to spend the night–I wanted to sleep in my own bed and I also wanted Honor to have access to her food and water and her own bed as well. I think perhaps we’ll try the slumber party idea again sometime soon when we can plan it a little better.
My ten-minute ride home this evening reminded me once again why I live close to my sisters in spite of the long commute to my job. If I lived near my job I wouldn’t spend as much time with my sisters and their families as I can easily do now. I simply love that. And I am grateful for where I am living right now. I made a conscious choice when I decided where I was going to live and am grateful that my decision continues to feel right to me. Tomorrow is a new day and I will have the opportunity to spend some time with one of my older sisters and her husband. It’s good to be around family. Now I have to figure out how I can spend time with my children, both of whom live on the other side of the country. For now, though, I will appreciate the time I get to spend with my sisters. It’s all good.
