i love mondays

if we took a poll on any day at any time, and asked the question, "do you like mondays?" i'd place my bet on "no" winning by a landslide...but i LOVE mondays...let me tell you why...today was a perfect example...

the morning began with my waking at 4:30...i can't explain that one, and i don't believe waking that early is anything to love...i knew absolutely that it would be going against all right, proper and healthy laws of nature to actually get out of bed at that time, even tho' i felt very rested (it's actually VERY healthy, but i don't LIVE in that knowledge yet!)...5 AM rolled around and it still felt wrong to get up, the world was black outside, and everything was too still to interrupt...feeling even MORE rested than i had a half hour ago, i had the thought that if i DID get up i could have a whole hour and a half to myself in that blackness and stillness before having to see or speak to another human being...(i really LIKE the other human beings in my house, but as homeschoolers with my spouse working from home, as well, i sometimes feel "never alone"...my spirit gravitates toward quiet and stillness...the opportunity seemed too good to pass up...

i was greeted by our new cat OZZY who rubbed his face against my ankles while i stood at the stove waiting for the kettle to bubble, intending to grab it off the burner before the whistle threatened the silence...i filled my cup and sat on a couch in my little kitchen, in the darkness, with OZZY now rubbing his silky fur of a face on the back of my neck before settling back into his window seat cushion and leaving me be...he "got it"...our dog MIDNIGHT stuck his face up to the window by my seat on the couch and i waved to him...he wagged his tail in expectation of more than a wave, but when nothing more came from me, he returned to his cozy doghouse...he "got it," too...i wasn't ready to involve anyone else in my day quite yet...our other dog ABBY was satisfied to watch MIDNIGHT make the attempt to get attention and breakfast for the two of them, her head raised only until it was clear he had been unsuccessful, she returned her face to the little pillow she made with her paws...

i simply sat...and relished...and savored...

6:30 seemed a good time to get dressed for a walk on the beach with the dogs...the 4 of us piled into the car...i cringed as we drove past elementary and middle schoolers making their way to having their young minds expanded or molded, depending on their teachers, i'm sure...it seemed as ungodly to me that they were out walking in the 6 o' clock hour as it had been to me that i was simply awake in the 5 o' clock hour...as my husband and i drove toward the coast, smoky blue and lilac clouds rested above hills and houses capped with sunrise...

as many places as i go to enjoy nature or other peaceful or rejuvenating environments like the beach here in san diego, and as many different times of day as i go to these places, early morning, late morning, afternoon, evening, i am always amazed at how deserted these 'escapes' are...SO many people in this little-big city, where IS everyone?  sometimes i am the ONLY person out!  everyone can't be at work or on the computer or at the gym or taking care of responsibilities at the same time, can they?!  i'm getting to my point, which is, the beach was quiet, a handful of lone surfers, a few barefoot, coffee-drinking, hand holding couples, a couple joggers, and us...the wave foam a stark contrast to the color of the glassy, slowly ebbing and flowing water...

we walked and talked and laughed and snapped photos with my rinky-dink phone (they didn't turn out 1/2 bad considering the phone is the freebie that comes with the verizon plan!)  a brisk walk that was really only sparsely interrupted with a smile of greeting or wave to a passerby, a pause to snap a photo of the sunrise hitting the water or lighting up the dogs' pretty faces, and 6 or so porpoise drifting along so closely i could have easily swum out to them!  i couldn't snap a photo because that rinky dink phone is the kind that, had i tried, and had it been able to talk, would have said, "don't push your luck!  i can only do so much!"  i had to use the old fashioned way of creating a keepsake of something so incredible, i just stood there and took it all in through my peepers, and if i close my eyes, i can see them now...i'm sure someday there will be a way to upload our mind's images to i-photo!

by the time we were making our way home the cars were more than sprinkling the streets, i could feel their urgency and was grateful they did not impose their 'drive' on my lack of urgency!  i was planning breakfast in my mind and it looked scrumptious!

i was greeted by gentle hugs and kisses when the front door opened FOR me, as well as help in the kitchen to bring my imagination to life and satisfy my hunger!

in the last 4 hours i have had multiple conversations with my 4 favorite people, created delicious food, overseen a craft paper replica of a volcano, and laughed and laughed and laughed, one laugh the result of watching MIDNIGHT try to eat cat poop out of the new kitty's litterbox, it was a cringing "ewwwwww" laugh, but a laugh just the same, and all has been in a calm and peaceful environment...it is october and in the 80's, lap-swimming goggles are calling from the backyard, and i will set a book down at water's edge in which to indulge after i swim...

this isn't my life because i am independently wealthy or have a trust fund or a sugar daddy or a nanny, or because i'm just terribly lucky (something i've been accused of many times)...this is my life because i have created it...i have let go of much that people think one can't live without, turns out one CAN!  but that list of "sacrifices" is a whole 'nother blog post...i encourage you to find things in your life to which you can say "goodbye," in order to make space for SPACE, and TIME for beaches and hikes or books and movies, for LAUGHTER, for PEACE OF MIND and for GRATITUDE to settle in and be noticed...

i love mondays...