“That’s the big question, the one the world throws at you every morning. ‘Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?’”
~ Mary Oliver, Long Life: Essays and Other Writings
I wake, heavy, under a blanket of pain.
Hello, old friend. It’s been a while.
There have been signs for a few days now: a twinge here, an ache there, a cloud descending. It didn’t occur to me, though. It rarely does.
Maybe it’s a change of weather, a change in something I’ve eaten, an added stressor, who knows. I’ve never been able to figure out a trigger.
I take stock and try to identify the places of pain. That’s hard; it’s everywhere.
Coffee. Coffee will help. Not really, but it will make me feel better, and perhaps ease my headache.
A hot shower, maybe a hot bath later.
Essential oils.
This afternoon, a cup of that expensive tea, sipped slowly, cuddled under a quilt with a book and my pup.
Time.
This too shall pass.
Even in this there are gifts.

Call me crazy, but this photo reminds me of an old/older woman, wearing crepey clothes and dancing. We might be old, withered….but we still dance.