within me exists a universe of delightful sparkling stars and densely heavy planets of swiftly swimming salmon thoughts and lumbering whale-sized emotions of chartreuse green ideas springing to life and ones yet to form under the depths of winter’s ice
“Alas, there’s the sound. The queen requests her tea.”
I watched as my friend Ray poured hot water into a tall white mug over a bag of Earl Grey tea. He smiled at me then padded softly into the bedroom where his wife Bonnie lay rousing from sleep. It’s a ritual they do every morning — Ray being an early riser and Bonnie needing a nudge to greet the day. She gently calls and he answers by bringing her a cup of hot tea
As I mentioned in a previous post, a few years ago I started a habit of choosing a word for the year. The word then becomes a motto or a theme I’d like to practice.
The year I went through my divorce, my word was release. It felt like the right word after so many years of struggling to make my marriage work. I needed to release all of the things that no longer worked for me.
Last year my word was explore. With COVID still on the rampage, I figured at least the great outdoors would be open. ‘Get out and explore’ became my motto.
At the end of October, a little gift arrived in my email. Tammy at The Mudroom blog sent me this message :
Hi Karin! I’ve started a new series called Out of the Attic. I find archived posts that match our theme and repost them on Friday. You wrote about courage a few years ago so your post fits and has been posted today! Tammy
One of the most popular questions that’s asked in the getting-to-know-you phase of dating is, “If you could have a superpower, which one would you choose?”
When I’m asked that question, I feel a strong pull to immediately respond, “Flying, of course! How cool would that be?!”
But when I ponder the question further, I think my answer would have be time travel. I’m not sure if it’s actually considered a superpower, but it’d be cool nonetheless. It’d be cool to move forward in time and see what life will be like. But it’d also be nice to travel back in time and take a peek at how I used to be and to maybe have a chance to right a few wrongs.
Back in September, I wrote a post about times when I get tugged back into an old familiar pain. It could be triggered by a photo I see on social media or by meeting someone who reminds me of someone who’s caused me hurt. Something about the photo or the person tugs me back into an old familiar pain. I feel a sting and a wave of grief washes over me.
A painful event happened this weekend that in the past would have caused a wave of sorrow. But this time, what I felt was anger. What I saw caused me to raise both middle fingers in the air, which were accompanied by several slightly audible f-bombs.
I should note, I didn’t express this to the person directly. I ducked into the bathroom first.
I was in a difficult situation this week. I won’t go into details right now because the experience is still too raw and emotional. I will say it happened on a hike that required a rescue team. I guess my companion and I took my word for the year–explore–a bit too far.