Last night I had a normal dream, which I find worrying as my dreams are never normal. In last night's dream everything was as it should be - the world actually looked like the world and everyone in it was who they should be. What's worse is that in my dream I was somehow in an episode of NCIS. I woke up utterly terrified - normal dreams! Quelle horreur! Just so you understand the gravity of this situation I will give an example of a typical dream of mine: I'm hiking along a very narrow, perilous cliff-track in a manner that defies laws of nature and gravity but I'm cruising effortlessly, then the way gets tougher and I just shrink myself to get more leverage on the track and to crawl under tree roots, etc. Not quite effortless but still making my way. At this point I'm joined by people who are both familiar and unfamiliar to me. I know them but don't know their faces. We have quite a bit of unspoken communication as we all navigate the cliff track. Then I arrive on a beach that is littered with very large smoothed stones (a la washed-up Stonehenge). Somehow it is dawn, although when I was hiking it was the middle of the day. The tide starts to bring in very needy cows of all size and colour - the only thing they have in common is the look of hopeful desperation in their large, glassy eyes.
Yes folks, that is one of my more run-of-the-mill dreams - this is to say nothing of the Hand of God coming out of a tornado, God forming itself out of water and looking at me, the Man of Fire that I could see through two walls of a tin shed, the numerous dreams of hearing/reading/understanding languages I've never seen before, the large, dark figure moving my bedroom door in and out of the jamb with its breath just as I jumped back into my body. So you could imagine my dismay at waking this morning to recall my involvement in a plain-and-simple episode of NCIS.
This NCIS dream has served as a sort of ironic wake-up-call to delve back into the less pedestrian side of my thoughts. So less of the "for lunch should we have pureed carrots or pureed pumpkin?" and more of "who are we and why are we here?" musings.
The Sepia Days
Over the last couple of weeks that's the term I've been using to identify this time in my life. Especially whenever I start getting anxious or stressed out about anything. I know in 50 years' time (assuming I am lucky enough to still be kicking around) I will look back on these days I've spent at home, watching nearly every minute of our firstborn's life and learnings unfold, as some of the best of my life. I know time will take the hard edges off any anxious feelings I may be having at present and remove the vivid colour, glossing the memories of these days in an idyllic sepia. The highs and lows of these very days will meld into some type of even-keel middle road pleasantry. I try to remind myself constantly now that these days are so precious and I need not waste any time worrying about things that I will kick myself for wasting time worrying about in even 10 years' time. Of course there will be new worries then and the key at that time will be to think of those as Sepia Days as well. The truth is I now kick myself for worrying about any of the stupid things I worried myself with 10 years ago. Einstein has many wonderful quotes attributed to him but one of my favourites is his definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. So I figure even one such as I can apply this and try not to fret today about stuff I will find silly in a few short years!
Here are some photos and videos collected from smack in the middle of the Sepia Days...
Splat!: 3 July 2011, 7.15pm
The Ruth Faulkner Public Library celebrated their 40th anniversary two weeks ago. Augie got a balloon during Tuesday's Rhyme Time and he loved it!
Splat!: 4 July 2011, 10.07 pm
all smiles waiting in the real estate office for photocopies
Splat!: 7 July 2011, 10.26 pm
crime-scene-chalk-outline Splat!: 8 July 2011, 10.33pm
two bottom front teeth
Augie was already having a bad morning - likely distressed by the top two front teeth, the arrival of which appear to be imminent - when he fell over and gently bonked his head into the wall. He got VERY MAD AT THE WHOLE STINKING WORLD and was totally inconsolable. Only Bodhi could make him laugh again. Thankfully Bodhi works for treats and is always at the ready!
smiling at Bodhi while surrounded by the fallout from a rusk. now that he has teeth, the rusks go a whole lot faster (and messier, much to Bodhi's liking)
Augie loves grocery shopping and spends the entire time trying to grab the grocery list out of my hand so he can eat it
a playdate with little friend Maya, he's doing his best to amuse her but she is either a) stunned at the manic nature of the display b) unimpressed c) a bit of column a, a bit of column b
even though he doesn't have any hair, he still enjoys having it brushed. but more than anything he likes chewing on the hairbrush...
a typical morning. only he's usually more vocal - he persistently clams up whenever he sees the camera. this video was taken when he was in the thick of practising his popping sounds. he was fast and furious at it for a few days and then *poof* it just vanished and I haven't heard a pop in days
Augie is really enjoying his rusks
Glad to hear you're getting back to "you"! Good things!
ReplyDeletebtw...we here at the Trunk household called splat "Touchdown Jesus"...nice little monniker that I'll let you borrow :)