You know, for the first time in a long while, I have enjoyed my Monday. Though I no longer have a regular 9-5 style office job, Mondays have still managed to stress me out each week. This has been especially disappointing given that Monday is kind of my Saturday, as typically I do not go into the store for the first two days of the week. I'm not sure what struck this particular Monday as less stressful than usual, but nonetheless, it was pleasant.
Now sitting here, enjoying the last little bit of the day before the sun and Benjamin go to bed for the night, I'm pondering the 5-senses-Friday. I truly am a sucker for these little post prompts, as to me they are like assignments, and I have always been at my most creative and productive when I have been given an assignment. These little homework bits give me something to think about during the week, helping to notice things about life or my surroundings that I perhaps wouldn't have caught otherwise.
I have wanted to partake in the 5-senses-Friday for weeks, but I am sorry to say that I have yet to come through a week with a full load of striking sensory experiences to report. Not that anything has to be dramatic, but for me it does need to be meaningful. Normally this wouldn't bother me, because sometimes things strike you, and sometimes they don't. That's just life. But this bothers me right now, because I have been struggling to lift myself out of a creative fog for year now (that's a long story). I want to be back where I used to be, when my brain was buzzing with wonderful colorful things all the time. Especially now that I have a son to enjoy those things with, because I think regularly exercising that part of our brain keeps us young and healthy.
(I have a tendency to blather when really I meant to just write a sentence or two. Not that anyone really cares about all that blathering, it just feels good to write out, and in the end that's sorta why I bother doing it.)
Today, I was…
…Hearing: The soft patter of rain falling.
…Smelling: Also the rain – fresh, spring-like, completely relaxing.
…Seeing: Dare I say it? The rain again? Just watching it fall outside the window. Rain isn't something I truly appreciated until I married my husband, who has always loved rain. The day might be gray, but the rain comes and washes the dust off everything, and suddenly it is all brighter. Green trees are vibrant, rock sparkles, painted signs and buildings are vivid. Its just lovely.
…Tasting and touching? I'm inside, not out, so it isn't rain this time. I'm tasting my coffee, pungent and smooth and dark. I'm feeling the warm cup in my hands, liking the shape of the smooth porcelain in my hand.
Aaaaahhhhhh…..all of this was contemplated for about 10 minutes, until such time as Ben had his before-bed-breakdown. As a parent, you really learn to value a wonderful 10 minutes when you can get them, don't you? 🙂