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What Keeps You Under the Covers?
I’m a morning person, and generally like getting up with the daylight. But even so, there are times my dog wakes me up sooner than I’m ready, eager for her walk. That’s okay. She’s definitely worth it. Occasionally I imagine that couples stay in bed together on weekend mornings, and if I had a partner, I’d linger more. When do you sleep in?
Sunday duvet cover void by Jean Jullien
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20 comments for “What Keeps You Under the Covers?”
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I always get up early … do not always get much done if not a work day but I like to be awake … to drink tea, read the newspapers etc.
here is a verse I read decades ago …
Sometimes overcome with toil & endeavour, I wish I could sleep forever & ever, but then this reflection my longing allays – I shall be doing it one of these days.
That verse is very apt. Thanks Anne Roy. I can never sleep in. I’m not wired that way.
Hello all,
My reply is not related to the above post but I did want to share my updates on a previous post. Hope that is ok.
The long weekend I was talking about went by and thanks to all your inputs I did plan ahead in chunks for each day and that kept me in good spirits.
Went out for lunch with my friend who landed in town unexpectedly, pampered myself in the salon with a good pedicure, did some shopping ,organized my clothes and stuff and did some cleaning at home. And best of all I joined a Gym :)I shed my inhibitions (I have never been to a gym ) and just decided to give it a shot. It has been five days so far and am feeling good to have taken this effort in keeping myself fit. I am hoping I can sustain this positive energy am feeling for the past few days.
Wendy- Sorry I couldn’t reply earlier. My dog is a male. He is 2.5 years old.
On another note- I ran into my school mate at the gym today. Haven’t seen her since school ended. So we had the typical small talk- how are you, what have you been upto. Eventually the conversation came to marital status. She assumed I was married and asked me how many kids I have 🙂 Today, however it did not bum me out. I told her am not married and don’t have kids and she apologized for assuming. Usually, I sound so defensive while saying am not married, but today I replied in a matter of fact manner. One of the biggest challenges for me is that though I have no regrets about being a single woman, I do not know how to keep myself fully occupied in my single life and that leads to a lot of negativity and depressing thoughts for me. Others see this as an opportunity to remind me that marriage would be an “ideal solution”.
Thoughts and experiences from you guys would be helpful.
I’m so glad your long weekend was a success! Thanks for the update. It’s great that you joined a gym. I think it really does help to have somewhere you can go, interact a little bit with others and also do something good for your health.
It’s great to have a place to go (like a gym) where you don’t have to necessarily plan, and where you’re engaged in an activity and there are other people around.
Great to hear from you again Kavitha. And thanks for the report about your long weekend. Why do you think that this time with your old school mate that you were able to talk about being single in a matter of fact manner? What has changed?
My dogs make sure that I am up at 5 am, 7 days a week–their internal clocks are amazing–so that’s well before sunrise most of the year. But I would be up early even without them insisting on it. If I wake up and see it is already light out I sort of panic. I view the super early morning hours as my own private property and like the quietness to read, drink coffee, and take the dogs out to run in the woods before there is much likelihood of encountering anyone.
Kavitha, I am probably older than you (can’t remember if you mentioned age earlier; I’m 58) and the issues you raise are not as difficult (for me) as they might have been a few years ago. It’s hard to encounter a school friend who hasn’t seen you for years, they make assumptions (not unreasonable) that those who know you on a daily basis and already know your life do not. With the ‘do you have kids’ thing, I say something like ‘canine kids’ – if they don’t get that or think it’s weird, I don’t really care (but I have always preferred dogs to kids so I don’t feel apologetic!)
It seems to me after a certain age a relationship, while it still might be great to have, doesn’t loom so large and it somehow frees up psychic space for you and enables you to become more fully engaged in activities you care about. So that’s my take on it. Admittedly, being single is hard but even though demographic studies show there are increasing numbers of us, we are kind of on the front line of this trend, which is always a hard place to be, but one might say somewhat heroic nonetheless!
I’m engaged in volunteer work – right now, it’s working on the Refugee crisis. And I find that it’s a great way to connect with other people and feel like I’m part of something bigger than my day-to-day life.
What kind of organization do you volunteer for and what do you do? I’m intrigued.
My synagogue has a strong social justice program and that’s the framework. Our Refugee Aid group has 2 components, one that is working on direct service to refugees in the Los Angeles area. And the other (which is the group I’m working with), is doing advocacy in conjunction with HIAS, a Jewish resettlement agency that works on behalf of refugees. http://www.hias.org
I don’t sleep in, but I’m guilt of climbing into bed as soon as I get home from work and then waking up at 11 PM to go about my nightly routine. It’s become a terrible habit. For one, my pet rabbit gets neglected and has to play on his own because I’m in bed. It’s just that the coziness and comfort that beckons after a long day is impossible to resist. It’s been like this since January.
What’s your nightly routine at 11PM?
I am not sure what changed Wendy, but probably that I was feeling good about myself at that moment in the gym.
Robin- I am 31 years old. Its taken me four years to get to a place where I am not brooding about conversations on why am not married and related stuff. I sort of went into a shell because everywhere I went, this is what people eventually talked to me about – be at work, social gatherings, relatives( constant badgering from them). I started avoiding people altogether at one point. I was depressed and lost interest in life( it was not only about the marriage thing, some other factors too contributed).
Now, I am slowly trying to get past that phase and trying to figure out what is going to be the next phase in life. I am yet to discover what am passionate about or what are the activities I would like to immerse myself in. And that is what is worrying me right now.
Let me ask you Kavitha – what are 2 experiences you’ve had (in any facet or time of your life) when you’ve felt the most at home in your skin and the most alive?
I was in California last year Wendy, on a vacation. Though the whole trip was memorable my visit to Disneyland in Anaheim has left a mark on me which shall forever conjure a happy feeling for me whenever I think about it. The parade and fireworks at the end of the day were most spectacular. The lights, the music and the whole atmosphere was simply mesmerising. I felt awestruck like a child and it felt like I was in some magical land where I could forget about all my worries and just be. I truly felt alive Wendy. I thoroughly enjoyed the parade and fireworks and was even singing along and cheering heartily. I also felt so inspired that one person’s dream (Walt Disney) could make such a difference and bring joy to millions of people who visit Disneyland every year.
The most I have felt at home and in my skin is when I used to write.In school I was proud of my writing skills and used to participate in essay writing contests. I was always happy to take on writing related assignments given in class than elocution or skits. I won the second prize in a city wide essay writing contest and it is one of my brighter moments to have made my parents and English teacher proud.
Thanks for sharing that wonderful Disney memory. And I’m not surprised that you love writing and excel at it. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading your comments on this site. Have you ever considered taking a writing class or workshop as an adult?
I am happy to share my thoughts. Glad you asked 🙂
Hmm have not considered about classes till now. Would like to explore. Can you tell me what these classes or workshops are about? I just did a google search and found that there are many centers offering creative writing classes in my city. Is that what you had in mind?
As writing is one of your passions, a class or workshop could be a fun activity for you and a way to engage with others in a structured setting. What do you think?
Thanks for the suggestion Wendy. I have been looking up on classes after you gave the idea. Will keep you posted.
Yes, please keep us posted about this.