Waking Up Today

I peek through cracked eyelids. Husband is up. He points the fan to blow on my face. I like that. I choose not to wake, but snuggle into my pillow. China taps my shoulder. She wants to snuggle too. What was that dream? Oh yeh, I was escaping something with Oprah and Maura Tierney and we were wearing masks and fleeing to Africa. Why do I want back into this dream? Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Snooze.

Eyes… open. Selma Lu is staring at me with anticipation. I wipe my wet nose. Puppy kisses, I smile.

Hello, Day.

Coffee, coffee, coffee, ahhh… Starbuck’s French Roast in pretty, water colored mug. Straw? Yes, please. Sniff and sip, delish! I settle into chair, stare at Nick. He is across from me, playing me music. Favorite Sunday moment. Sigh. Smile. Enjoy Selma’s hops across floor and amazing puppy dog cuteness. Absorb China’s soft belly, as she sits in my lap. Baby, fine fur. Beautiful sky beaming through glass. Must walk dogs.

Walk, walk, walk. Nick goes inside to head off for golf. Walk, walk, walk. Albemarle Sound with wooden bridge and cypress trees. Beauty, God, what a beauty. Wave to bikers. Carry baby turtle to water.

Inside, I sit with second cup of coffee. Breakfast. Read a bit online. Prepare for day. First on list, play David Gray. What to do? Revise? Read more about the first seven presidents of The United States of America who go unrecognized because it was under the Articles of Confederation and not the Constitution? Pack for my upcoming trip back to Atlanta? Write for my blog?

Why, yes.

Hello, 'In My Monet'.

It is perhaps the most beautiful day of the year, so far. Outside it feels like we are situated not on the East Coast, but out West, maybe Salt Lake City. While walking with Nick, we remembered his tour events out in Utah that felt so marvelously; it was impossible for the body to ache or the mind’s thought to drag. The days were so clear, as if the rest of life had been lived behind the lens of a bad camera and this, finally, was a high quality camera lens revealing the magnitude of beauty for which life deserved recognition. Recognition it got. Happy people certainly gave credit to the environment for their clarity. It was one of the best weeks on the tour. Maybe we belong there or somewhere like it. We refer often to those weeks spent in Park City, even farther to Eugene, Oregon and down into and through California. This isn’t implying Edenton isn’t pretty, because it surely is. It is very picturesque and special. Especially on a day that mimics western weather.

David Gray’s song goes like this “First chance I get, I’m gone, I’m out of here.” Not kidding. It is playing overhead like a soundtrack to the narration going on in my head. It poses a very good question. If I got the chance, would I be gone from little Edenton? Thought provoking. Let me see how this one rolls.

It is tempting. But, having moved around a bit already in life, I notice that to occupy my mind with what I am not liking about a place I live in, is worth nothing. It provides nothing of value to me. So, I try not to think about things like this often. I think about what Edenton is offering me instead, what gifts it is providing. This is valuable.

I can enjoy this time while I’m here or be miserable about what I am missing. I tried that for a few weeks. Miserable. Purely miserable. I miss tons of stuff. Let’s see: family, friends, Flying Biscuit, Nord-heaven, Anthropologie, coffee and lunch dates with girlfriends, lights from a beautiful city skyline, buzzing energy, people moving like they’ve got somewhere to go and they’re excited about it, oh gee, actually having somewhere to go, parks full of families and dogs and smiling people (Chastain, Piedmont), brunch at Murphy’s, a plethora of restaurants to choose from for dining, museums, musicals, kick-ass aquariums, a twenty minute door to door drive to one of the largest international airports in the world, aka, freedom to roam world easily, concerts, Braves baseball, the Falcons, (and especially) red and black UGA flags flying, music, music, music, exquisite cuisine offered late into the night, evening cocktails at any of the fine establishments or hotels, artistic creation going on, nobody caring about rumors because there are other way more interesting things to talk about, doggie daycare, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s… anything at any place you want really, fashion and formality, Athens nearby, tons of hills, tons of trees, anonymity when wanted, salons and spas, and simply driving down Peachtree Street. I mean, I could keep going, all day.

But, I will not. I will realize what my new home has to offer and why it might be that life has swept me down the riverbank to rest in a place named Edenton. (Case in point,) I have rest and relaxation, deep breaths, starry nights, historical remnants at fingertips, cypress trees stemming from the Sound, big moons with big reflections in the midnight water, walking in the middle of the street if I want to, not so much traffic unless behind lollygagger, adorable historical district and downtown, spooky, foggy winter evenings, quaint backyard gardens between white picket fences, getting to know people because that’s what you do, front porch swings, nearby Williamsburg, nearby outer banks, pedestrian lifestyle, no fashion temptations to refuse, possibility of getting cute bike complete with basket in which to put China Lingua, lots of dinners at friends' houses, the most impressive dragonfly summers ever seen, old colonial homes/estates with flickering gas lanterns, intriguing natural elements and creatures, getting in and out of the post office in about 2 minutes, new and really great friends, another pretty neat experience to add to my life’s in-progress piece of art, and most valuable of all, time. Time to write, read, talk, walk, learn about something or someone new is most likely the biggest gift. I have no choice but to embrace the “I’d like to have time to do that one day.” category on my list of to-dos. No stress, no strain, no big corporate thumb pressing down on me, smooshing me into something I don’t want to be.

It’s one more bend in the river. I get to pick the flowers and smell them, experience the different scents. I get to step and sink into different mud of the Earth. I get to see what the sky looks like from here. Where I am now is to be appreciated and to think about the nots is too easy for one and also a waste of time. Often, when I have concentrated on those negative aspects of a place, and have left it, I look back at it and think not of the negative, but of all the positive things I liked about the place. Which is, most likely, a divine influence on human nature. Memory gazes toward the happy, not the sad.

Not relying on memory too much is key for me. I think of all the happiness in a place left behind (Especially Atlanta, because I never, ever once went without appreciation for my Lady Atlanta. I adore her completely.), and I miss what’s in front of me. What good does it do me to sink my feet in this mud and think of that mud?

I am growing with this.

I close my eyes.

Relish my moment. Feel the intensity of this single, pure moment. Blood rushing, breath feeding me life, life feeding me time. Experience the momentum. Energy swarming in air, Earth feeding me vibrations, vibrations feeding me the flow of life.

Don’t close eyes… open. Wake up to really live. Now. Live in the now that has been gifted to me. I hear the music. I see the reflections of life’s wishes. I feel the pulse of the soul of me. I smell my home’s mixture of aromas. I taste, well, I still taste coffee, which isn’t disappointing, friend! I intuit there is a wonderful uncovering coming if I allow. I intend to look at now.

I sit back and smile slightly. Selma cocks head and blinks, ears perk. China looks at me sleepily with a sliver of pink tongue sticking from her black, furry mouth.

It’s a beautiful day inside too. Maybe one of the most beautiful days of the entire year, so far.

I wish for peaceful places to land down my life’s river to enjoy my Sundays, and my every days. Deep breath. I thank David Gray.

Now, on to Brandi Carlile.