The hammock by the creek was quilt-tossed and pillow-fluffed. There I lay under the canopy of trees, swaying gently, suspended by woven threads. Water, spilling over rocks, the nearby sprinkler ticking droplets across the grass, the feeling of being hidden by a leafy umbrella very soon lulled me into deepest sleep. How long I slumbered, I'll never know, but how much I needed it I'll know deeply for a very long time. When I awoke, I let myself stay. To just be. Still & quiet. No phone, no book. Lie there. Watch & listen. Just listen.
Loves? This was a portion of my Sunday. I wrote these words for you to scoop, to run with in your own direction, to mix with your world and experience what happens. We can't all unhinge from our lives and vacation across the country, or the pond, or even across town, but looking through the right lenses, we can find a portion of rest and a change of pace right where we are.
For me, it's laundry on the line. It's sweeping the floors of the little house every day, but only mopping when I must. It's reading one book after another. It's baking bread in the early morning or, maybe, during a cool, late-evening storm. It's watermelon, cut into chunks and heaped into the big bowl in the fridge. It's the perpetual jar of iced tea, sweetened just right. It's strawberry mint, growing in pots outside the front door.
It's a different cadence to a familiar tune of life. There are boys in, and boys out. Always boys, with races, jobs, fishing, and play. Fixing this, working on that. Lying on bunks, watching Parks & Recreation. Reading (and laughing at) Patrick McManus here, then there. When hunger strikes hard, there are packs of ramen that cost less than gum but mean more than pot roast and mashed potatoes (they couldn't believe I bought some. Neither could I). They make their own lunch (bowl after bowl, smiles upon smiles), and that's okay. Teenager taste buds will only last a while.
I tuck away, engaged in meaningful work, and have been amazed by the divine hand in it all. This intentional stepping away from wider obligations has given place to deep inspiration and flow in my creative process. I feel almost giddy at times. There's time to research, to plan, to design and create. There's time to learn. All with a vacation from documenting and sharing it all. I could describe it as vital consumption for my occupation of perpetual production. Or simply as: this for that.
Be well, my friends.
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