Where a sleepless night can lead…

I couldn’t sleep Friday night. This is, of course, not a new thing for me. Sometimes I can manage a few hours, sometimes sleep doesn’t come at all. To those who sleep easily, I’m sure this will sound strange, but I prefer the not sleeping at all. I find that I am anxious to be out of bed and doing when I don’t sleep, while when I do sleep a few hours I just want to stay in bed and get back to that restful state.

Not having slept, I got out of bed at around 7:30 a.m. made myself a cup of coffee and spent some time writing. The restlessness of a night of tossing and turning was still there, so I got dressed and went for a walk in the park and ended up by the boathouse, where the still-rising sun was reflecting off the lagoon.

I decided to zig-zag through and as I was strolling through I ran into my ‘friend’ from the library. We chatted for a minute, again about language (he speaks Japanese). He promised to share his mal address with me next time we saw each other so we could make plans for coffee and I continued my walk. Our chance meeting, sadly, confirmed his homeless status.I continued around the lagoon and caught two ducks almost creating the shape of a heart, just a few feet away.

I stopped on the other side of the lagoon and sat on a bench just to breathe some much needed fresh air after two weeks indoors with the flu.

The combination of sunshine, nature, and crisp morning air calmed my mind and rejuvenated me. I continued my stroll when I noticed something flying in the air, and a black lab run and jump into the water after it. Having just in the last year gained a new respect for what dogs can add to a person’s life, I smiled as I walked toward its direction. When I reached where he and his owner were, I turned to look at the owner and smiled. He was CUTE and smiling at me shyly. For a minute, my heart fluttered a bit, then it did this weird thing—the thing a tape does in a walkman when the batteries are dying—and then it just stopped. It went back to hide—made me want to go hide—still not ready to allow anyone near it. Maybe soon, hopefully soon..