Into the Woods

Welcome back, kids! Er, wait... or is that what you say to me? Well, in any case, here I am and here you are. I said I'd be back on the 2nd of April and here I am. Two days later. Oy.

So, yeah... my "blogging break". I mean, I guess it was, in point of fact, a break from blogging so the term still fits technically. However, it wasn't even remotely what I had envisioned in terms of how that time would be spent. I don't know if the universe is trying to teach me something or, more aptly put, what it is that the universe is trying to get me to wake up to, but no sooner did I declare my blogging break than outside forces quickly spoke up for my time and creative energies. You might think that the lesson could be about the power of saying "no". But, these were largely circumstances where choice was not an option.

That also reminds me of a time when I was going to do hell-and-all around the house after taking time away from work only to wake up on that first day with a backache from hell that rendered me useless well past my planned period of productivity. So, I don't know? Maybe my inner child is in some kind of a cosmic tiff with the powers that be? Well, I wish they'd take it to a counselor and leave me the hell out of it!

I don't have the pulse on precisely what's going on with me these days, but something is going on. Mid-life growing pains? I think I can safely say that it isn't a mid-life crisis. Hair restoration programs still seem laughable as opposed to a viable option, I feel no compulsion to replace the one car I've ever had (for 20 years now!) with something flashy and sporty, and I've yet to feel the urge to go a-la-Madonna/JLo and ditch the mister to find me a younger boy toy. I mean, honestly, why would you want one more child to look after?

A friend of mine recently took a 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat. That's ten days of no talking, no communicating, ten hours of meditating a day. She said it felt like "someone had taken a toilet brush to my consciousness and connected a locking fastener between my mind and body so now they work in tandem instead of against one another." I don't know about you, but after the last few weeks (or years, if you will) I could use a moment like this. Although, for anyone who has met me, the thought of ME not talking for ten days would be no less miraculous than anything Jesus managed to pull off. When I turned to Kendall to say that I wanted to look into it and that it would involve me being silent for all that time he said, with an undertone of fear, "Oh god! What about when you CAN talk again?!!" Not flattering but utterly justified.

To be perfectly honest, during my time away I actually contemplated whether it may simply be time to end my blogging days here on "The Bedlam." But, obviously, that thought just didn't resonate authentically. I love being a blogger! But, that's not to say that my methods don't need strong reconsideration for the sake of both myself and the blog. I know that I'm ready for a change of pace here but I hesitate to get overly specific just yet about what thoughts I'm currently entertaining in that regard. What I can say is that it will likely mean fewer posts, but more original content. So, we'll see what something different this way comes.

Despite being largely housebound during my hiatus, I did manage to leave the homestead and get myself out into nature which is about my biggest compulsion these days. Fortunately, my friend 'Miss Betty' is a walker and was willing to join me in the Grand Forest here on Bainbridge Island as you will see in the photos here. Something so restorative about birdsong and good conversation. And, I'm still feeling the need for reflection and restoration.

ALL PHOTOS BY UNCLE BEEFY