Here’s what I did earlier today:
I slept late. Sure, it’s Monday and I’ve got a lot of work to do - but I’m unemployed. So, I was tired this morning, and when my alarm rang, I turned it off, rolled over, and slept for a delicious 2 hours more. In the beam of sunshine that comes into my room in the morning. With a smile on my face. Then I woke up and played with that little kitten while I made myself a cup of tea. I hung around drinking my cup of tea slowly, then I got on my running digs and drove a mile to an amazing park - the only stand of old-growth forest within the city of Seattle, which sits on a promontory in Lake Washington. I ran around the trail there next to the water. The sun was out and a cool, sweet-smelling breeze was coming off the water. I ran across grassy fields studded with little white flowers and saw several blue heron. Then I walked around the trail again, stopping to sit on a secluded bench and watch a colony of turtles sunning themselves on a log. They would plunk into the water if I watched too long. On the way back to my car, I stopped in the deserted playground, and swung on the swings. I was soon higher than I remember going as a kid, and felt dizzy with the possibility of having so much fun. On the last arch, I jumped off, watching my shadow - arms upraised - descend towards the ground. When I landed, the gravel beneath my running shoes made a satisfying crunch. I drove home, heated up some leftovers of the finest (Ezell’s) fried chicken in the known world and took a shower. Then I ate my lunch (pieces of fried chicken rolled in a tortilla with hot, hot San Juan salsa and fresh, real strawberry lemonade) out on the porch, and played with the kitten some more. Finally, my itch for exercise not yet satisfied, I rode the 5 miles to this wifi cafe on my bicycle.
Some people will tell me that they just cannot understand it when I say I feel guilty for being so happy. They tell me it’s OK. I try to be strong and resign myself to the fact that my life is an earthly paradise. Maybe someday I’ll even be able to enjoy it guilt-free. But, I mean, really - can you blame me?
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