Food for Thought

Long time no blog. 

It used to be six months seemed like a long time not to blog.  Now six days feels longer than six months ever did. Maybe because it didn't become a habit before or there was no expectation that I would write more than every once in a while.

Now summing up the day in 6 words or 500 seems the best way to give a day its due.  It differentiates these 24 hours from all the others that run together if I let them.

It's alternately exhausting and exhilarating to be present enough during the day to be able to capture the essence of it at the end of the day. It's truly its own reward if I have the discipline to do it.

Fortunately for me, discipline is part of my tortoise tendencies.  Since I'm the tortoise in the tortoise and hare pair, my slow and steady pace may not always win the race, but does guarantee I'll cross the finish line, usually at the eleventh hour.

Being the hare in the tortoise and hare pair, Bob goes like a house on fire all day. But once he hits the couch, his fire is extinguished.  He may be the physical fire fighter but I'm the metaphorical fire fighter in this household.  (Go ahead and say that five times.)

As the metaphorical fire fighter, I smolder.  I can keep going provided I stoke that fire with enough snacks, dog walks, cat naps, song, dance, and occasional fluttering of jazz hands.

What writing has done for me is raise the bar on this smoldering aka my energetic output.  I used to think I had nothing left over for the rest of my life when I left work at the end of the day.

Now I walk into my newly remodeled kitchen and am inspired to create something delicious, or at least edible.  If that plan fails, which admittedly it often does, I can always write about it.

And this is the ultimate gift.  Every day life offers up an endless supply of food for thought. So as Scarlett O'Hara herself declared, "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

Right now I've been stockpiling stories for six days. If I didn't tell you at least one today, some were sure to spoil.  That adds the urgency to this emergency.  (That line or rather "who took the urgency out of emergency?" goes in my Emergency Room: The Musical script and is fodder for another day's blog).

Every day something absurd, amusing, alarming, annoying, and altogether amazing happens.  It might just take a little imagination to spin it that way.  Once I start the spin, I can only imagine where you might take it.

So let's sleep on this and see what stories start to stir.  Or if you're an early reader, wake and wonder what the day will bring. 

Then let's all report back here at Happy Hour on Hump Day for a tale telling treat, shall we?