WEAKNESS? ME?

I have a lot of weaknesses, but the challenge I took says to list just five.


1. I'm impatient. With other people - with  myself - with life in general. When I want something, I want it NOW. And I'm impatient with anyone who doesn't want it as quickly as I do!

I am one of those well-if-it-gets-done-quickly-it-doesn't-really-matter-if-it's-done well person. I am fast and sloppy... but mainly sloppy.


2. I am scared of quite a few things. Heights - well, actually, falling DOWN from heights.  Angry people - okay, probably getting HIT and damaged by angry people.



3. I am not, and never ever WILL be, a morning person.




4. I am confident... a tad too much. I am pretty certain that I'll get through anything and/or everything. I think I could use a touch more humility - I'm working on it.



And 5. I am very guilty of judging people way too quickly. For someone who is incredibly sloppy in her personal appearance, I rapidly rate someone by their personal appearance MUCH too soon. I immediately take into account their physical fitness (weight, height, firmness) - and as a (relatively) short, fat person.... this is STUPID.

MIDNIGHT

Who decided that midnight is when the day is over?

My day is over around 8:30 p.m. - anything after that really belongs to tomorrow.

In fact, the only useful thing that I do in the evening it write down all my plans for tomorrow - the plans that I generally smile sadly at the next day and send it through the shredder.

I used to be a complete night owl, and only really came alive after 10 p.m.

And while I am never ever EVER going to be a morning person, I am now a night WIMP.

I am ready to chuck it all in at 9 p.m. - I actually am ready to go to SLEEP.

So when Congress and the Senate and the President are still arguing over Obamacare, which had already been signed into law and ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court, and the Republicans threaten to shut down the government if they can't agree to do just what the Republicans want (can you tell that I am slightly biased about this?), MIDNIGHT was their deadline.

And, thankfully, here in Arizona, that's 9 p.m.

So I got to bed on time.

And yes, the federal government went ahead and shut down - and my husband is home until that changes.

WHAT WAKES YOU UP IN THE MORNING?

Last night was one of those amazing nights.



#1) I had whatever the reverse of insomnia is - a willingness to go to bed early. It may have had something to do with moving approximately 386 lbs. of dead/dying/petrified yucca limbs from various areas of our property to one big heap (destined for a possible fence or a really really big bonfire when our fire season is - if ever - over).



#2) I was awakened around 3 a.m. by the moon. Somehow moonlight is always soft, very very quiet and gentle. I suppose to anyone with a massive hangover, it could be considered jarring and harsh - but that's one of the many many reasons I do not drink. But even being roused at an ungodly hour like 3 a.m., it felt like being kissed awake by a fairy.

#3) Then, in sharp contrast, a pack of coyotes exploded with their yipes, barks, and screeches as they celebrated some sort of conquest or kill. They were probably several miles away, but in the thin night air, sounded as if they were right outside our window. My poor little dog Cissy was chased by a coyote just a few days ago when they were both following the same quail, so she was quivering slightly and kept looking to me for reassurance - "You're not going to let them in, are you, Mommy?!"


#4) When I went outside about two hours later to feed the animals, the cloud pattern in the slowly-dawning sky was as if pieces of lace were laid over an ever increasing field of pink and blue. I wish I had taken a photo, even with my cell phone, quick enough to capture the sheer elegance of it - but I didn't.







And these two guys? They have nothing to do with this blog - I just came across them as I was searching for the pictures above, and thought they were worth sharing.

And maybe the memory of THESE faces will make YOU wake up quickly tomorrow morning!

A MORNING THAT ACTUALLY WAS GOOD

To say that I am not a morning person is a gross understatement, and does not even begin to touch how bad my mornings are.


I believe, perhaps wrongly, that I am normally a cheerful and polite person (please feel free to contradict me; just remain aware that I will burst into tears when you do).


And it seems like the way I can remain a cheerful and polite person is to be the grumpiest, meanest bitch for the first hour I am awake. My excuse, at least.


So when I awake, I normally am the epitome of the the hungover, blearily-eyed staggering night owl, staggering to get a coffee fix.... except for the fact that I don't drink coffee, so some Diet Coke or Mt. Dew.


There is a line from "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert Heidlein which I am going to paraphrase badly, but describes this condition perfectly: "For a long long time, he had been getting through that black period between waking up and the first cup of coffee by telling himself that tomorrow might be a little easier."


However, this morning was different.


Today I woke up and felt LIKE GETTING UP. I stood up and FELT GOOD. I walked into the bathroom and ACTUALLY SMILED at my reflection in the mirror.



Lord, whatever you did, keep it coming, please.