MEDITATION AND MINKEY

I didn't get enough sleep last night so I decided to see if Wayne Dyer was right--see the end of yesterday's post--that when you meditate it is worth several hours of sleep. I was deep into meditation when "Yowl, yowl, yowl," that was Minkey standing in the doorway. Who knows what he wanted? He finally went away. In five minutes he was back, "yowlyowlyoowwwll."

sigh.

Even with the interruptions the meditation was good. I felt refreshed and I'm still up. Sadly, I'm still up. In two minutes it will be midnight. If Minkey realized it was almost the witching hour he would be yowling again. He never misses an opportunity to be annoying.

If anyone in Utah Valley wants to learn how to meditate call Harmony House in Orem, Utah. 801-434-8800. 1145 East 800 North, Orem, Utah (It's the basement office.) The office looks like a house, it's on the north side of the street. They will teach you for free. Even if you have an annoying cat in the house.

PS They are teaching a class tomorrow night, Thursday, October 22 at 7:00. So worth it.

PPS Stop by my house first and get your free cat (just in timefor Halloween). A bargain you shouldn't pass up.

ARE THE ROOFERS TAKING THE WEEKEND OFF?

Really, when you can't sleep and you don't want to get up and read. because then you think you won't be able to sleep if you do, and so you lie there--or is it "lay"--and then, just about the time you have finally gone to sleep and are having a really good dream--translate: totally insane but makes you say to yourself, "Whoa, I have a really intense, interesting subconscious mind,"--the roofers across the street start their banging. "BANG." Pause. "BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG." Pause, pause, pause, pause, pause. "BANG." Pause. "BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG, BANG." And then they repeat until you stumble out of bed and walk into the wall and eventually make it to the bathroom and after standing in the shower for five minutes you wake up when you realize you are still in your nightclothes.

Do roofers take the weekend off? I don't know if I want them to, or if I want them to get done on Saturday and hope they won't ruin Monday too. But the lawnmowers will ruin Saturday so the roofers might as well keep them company. What people mow their lawns at 7:00 a.m. anyway? And then they use their leaf blowers, that are made from recycled jet airplane parts. Those people are the ones who probably wake up when my kitchen light goes on at 1:30 as I'm getting a drink before going to bed. The early morning mowing and jet-leaf-blowing is retribution.

And why do some people live such ordered lives, go to bed at 10:30, get up at 6:30 and never live in chaos? I was programed at BIRTH to have sleep problems--translate: not go to bed before 1:00 a.m. and I HATE it. I want to be one of those people with ordered lives. I really do. Like roofers and people who mow their lawns with the dew still on it so they can replace their mowers in five years when it rusts out from all the moisture that collects under the grass gunk that collects under neath. It would be a small price to pay.

PS In the winter the neighbor in question shovels the snow off his patio at 6:30 a.m. Yes he does. His snow shovel is made of cheap metal and grates on the cement in a satisfying way--translate: annoying and loud. It sounds like a thousand metal garbage cans are being crushed by a gravel crusher. Perhaps snow free patios are essential to the sanity and well being of this particular homeowner.

Or, it's retribution.

I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY

I have nothing to say so I'm going to bed.

My bed, with the yummy topper.

And my four pillows. I tried sleeping with three but four is the right number because two of them end up on the floor. Why don't I sleep with just two then? Because four is the right number.

I've already brushed my teeth and cleaned my face and put on the lavender lotion that my daughter-in-law makes. It smells so clean and go-to-sleepish.

'll open the window to the cool night air. And turn the fan on, mostly for the "white noise." Maybe the garbage trucks won't wake me in the morning.

I'll say my prayers--like a good girl--and read my scriptures and write the short note I'm promised to write in a journal. It won't be very witty or wise because I have nothing to say.

I'll listen to the crickets. I hope that evil cricket-eating insect doesn't come back this year to clean the oak trees out. I know he needs dinner too, but I want him to dine somewhere else. Far away.

And then I'll snuggle down and go to sleep. Lovely, quiet sleep. How I love it.

So, until tomorrow, when brilliance visits me, I'll say good night.

And if brilliance doesn't visit me, I will have nothing to say.

Sweet dreams.

WHAT'S YOUR PASSION?

This week I'm working on a chapter--for my YA novel--that I have simply titled "Passion."

Did you know what you were passionate about when you were twelve? Are they the same things that they are now?

My obvious passions are my religion and my family. Here are some minor ones:

THE STORY. It's always about the story and has always been so. Even commercials on TV have a story. My favorite is the Arby's "last day of school" one where the faculty is just as happy to be out of school as the kids and they all end up at Arby's. I have it recorded and watch it several times in a row. It cheers me up.

PLUCKING MY WHISKERS STRAY EYEBROWS: They shall not live.

FINGERNAIL POLISH: On September 1st I will have worn it every day for a year.

THE COMPUTER: I can read the story, compose the story, and keep in touch with my friends. Not Facebook. Not Twitter. Just email, which I love.

SLEEP: I just need to get some earlier.

LUNCH OUT WITH FRIENDS: Where I hear their stories and tell them mine.

MOVIES: Again, the story. And the popcorn.

CLEAN HANDS, CLEAN FACE: Repentance for the soul, soap for the face. And my daughter-in-law's lavender lotion, which I put it on my face and then put my hands to my nose and breathe deep for a full minute. Then I go to sleep happy.

That's enough for tonight.

What are your passions?

THE WITCHES OF THE PAST AND OF THE FUTURE

When I was a kid I often was not able to go to sleep because the wind howled around the eves or the house and I thought it was a witch, trying to get in. When the heat vent cooled off it buckled and made "someone is creeping up the stairs" noises. I, of course, thought it was the witch. I would have gotten out of bed and run like blazes downstairs to Mom but I knew a witch was hiding under my bed and she'd grab my ankles. It was always a witch.

Now it's fear of the future. Fear for our children. Fear of this and fear of that. Are the fears just like the witch? Just as unrealistic? If we could look back at ourselves from fifteen years in the future would we say, "Hey, we sure were scared of something unrealistic"? We might.

So, I'm going to bed to sleep a night without fears. I hope you will too. It will all work out. There might be some scary times, sad times, alone times, but we'll all get through it and stand on the other side, victorious. The witches of the world are in our head. Let's not let our imaginations run away with us. And let's have faith.

And remind me to read this post when I forget.

SOME EXCELLENT THINGS

1. A young man from a Podunk town in Oregon who is scared to death, but has come to Provo to go to BYU anyway. I hope he does well.

2. Going to the movies--Kung Fu Panda today--with some of my excellent grandkids. Very cute movie and very cute kids.

3. Remembering that Gilmore Girl used to call our Oriental acupuncturist Kung Pao Chicken.

4. Having a story already written for my personal history group and not having to stay up late writing.

5. Having email friends. One is on the run for stealing two steak knives thirty years ago when he was just a young sprout--I've vowed I don't know him but I don't know...if I'm put under the lights I may fess up. Another email friend decided instead of thinking of all the things she wants to change she will think of some things that are excellent as they are. She is the inspiration for this post. Still another email friend sends encouraging words--even from where the deer and the antelope play. She would know that because she's been on the range and everywhere else that her husband, Columbus can drive. And my erratic emailing daughter, Gilmore Girl who will not write a blog and only sends me pithy one-liner emails and I have to call her a Cheeky Monkey. There's a lot of that Cheeky Monkey-ness going around this week, it seems. And last, but not least, a funny friend from the land up north who walked into a pole one day and has never been the same, which is all right by me because she is funny and optimistic and hard working and did I mention funny?

6. Having a husband who eats forty-'leven times a day and stays at his pre-marriage weight. It gives me someone to grumble about and, as we all know, everyone feels better after a good grumble. Thank you Honey for the reason I feel better forty-'leven times a day, multiplied by 365 plus one for leap year.

7. Sleep.

8. Cold weather today, but only if it gets hot again tomorrow.

9. Rain.

10. Toenail polish, which will soon be covered up with socks but it will be there, all winter, anyway. And fingernail polish too, which I am wearing every day for a month until I get sick of having to re-do my nails every two days.

That's it for today. Ten excellent things that I don't need to worry about trying to change.

PLANNING AHEAD SO YOU CAN DO A BIG PROJECT

I clicked on a website tonight, an email link from some person who is organized. She must also be an optimist to send organizing info. to the likes of me.

Here are some of her ideas for if I have a big project coming up that will take more of my time and add stress to my schedule.

Plan ahead: Okay, my big project is to finish--or even seriously start--my book.Let's see how I'm going to do that. Her ideas in blue, because she's so optimistic and blue seems like an optimistic book. My arguments in red because red seems like a hot color. Not to be confused with hot romance.

1. Get your body ready. Try to sleep a little extra and get caught up beforehand. Eat healthy and don’t skip your vitamins or exercise routine.

The reason this won't work: It will take my body a year to get in shape. My book is supposed to be finished by then, if it's not, then I will have forgotten all about it.

2. Plan meals that don’t take a lot of preparation. Stock up on non perishables and supplies.

Non-perishable foods are the ones that aren't good for you. The foods that are good for you are the ones that spoil. And meals that don't take a lot of preparation are what? A piece of broiled chicken and some buttered noodles. Easy? Yes. Good for you? No. Weren't we trying to get our poor body in shape and eat healthy? So, eating healthy and fixing easy meals are not compatible with nonperishable foods. Unless you are going to eat salad every day and salad takes lots of preparation time. And perishes.

3. Don’t add anything unnecessary to your schedule. Wait until the crunch is over to get your teeth cleaned or get bids for painting your house.

Everything is unnecessary when you are trying to write, including sleeping, which conflicts with suggestion #1.

4. Plan your wardrobe. Make sure everything you plan to wear is clean/mended/pressed.

See argument to #3. Clean, mended and pressed clothes are unnecessary if you are writing. You write. You may write in jammies but for sure you aren't writing in anything with a freshly ironed crease. The only crease you will have is from sleeping on your face when you finally stumbled to bed.

5. Communicate. Schedule time with your family to discuss upcoming family events and how details and transportation will be handled in your absence.

Here's how details will be handled in your absence--translated--I'm on the computer, don't bother me. "Phil, dear, could you please get your own meals? And wash your own clothes? And if its not too much bother could you please vacuum the floor and do the dishes because--after all--I'm writing. Oh, one more thing. You're making some of your fabulous homemade V-8 juice. Would you please make some for me too? And bring it down here to me? Thanks so much."

6. Be wise about volunteer activities. For example, let’s say you’re asked to serve on the church finance committee which meets twice a month on Monday nights. This would mean spending more time away from your family.

Well, sorry, but church responsibilities come even before writing in my jammies. I want to end my life on good standing with my Father and I don't think he cares whether or not I write that YA novel but I do think he cares that I helped his other children, which means serving in the church.

So, thanks for the helpful suggestions and the optimistic email. Sorry to fail your suggestion list.

Now, if there is a list on how to handle a husband who has gone around the bend because his wife is demanding, lives in jammies, has a keyboard glued to her fingers, and has facial creases, well, I'd like to see that list. It might be helpful.

PS I have lead you to believe that I am wonderfully productive about this mythical book thing. Sorry to mislead you. I do try to write every day but life does interfere. I would rather stay married than publish. I would rather have friends than publish. I would rather eat salad than publish and maybe that's the problem. Something would have to go. I'm afraid to think that it might be sleep.

SIX WORD WEDNESDAY 6-18-08

Nothing is as enticing as sleep.