Thursday, September 23, 2010

What else was I gonna do while sleep eluded me?

In the wee hours of the night, yet another one spent staring at the ceiling at 3 am, I got to thinking of all the things that cause insomnia and have convinced myself that most causes can be categorized into one (or a combination) of three categories. And have worked out a funny (somewhat) solution for all.

The first - not enough activity (mental and/or physical) in the daytime to make sleep possible.
Nothing a good fire lit under your butt, with a heaping helping of caffeine-related products, wouldn't cure!

The second - too much activity (mental and/or physical), sugar or caffeine late in the day.
Sitting around like a sloth at night in front of t.v. is okay (just don't think, snack on anything but veggies, or have caffeine - and yes, unfortunately this does mean chocolate). Bonus!?

The third - burning the candle at both ends.
This happens when your body and mind can't agree on which fire needs to be lit or extinguished.
Nothing a little TLC wouldn't cure in the right measures, at the right time. So you'll pardon me while I go make myself a pot of tea with a side of chocolate for breakfast.


...and if none of this works, talk to your doctor. After all, I'm just a writer trying to inject a little humour on what can be a frustrating situation.

Food for thought: Did our ancestors suffer insomnia? Somehow I doubt it with having to do everything the hard way - during daylight hours, spending quality family time by lamplight or moonlight when the day was over and falling into bed exhausted to prepare for a repeat the next day. Maybe it's time to stop fighting what our ancestors left us with...our Circadian rhythm?

Monday, September 20, 2010

What it means to be a writer

I'm a country girl at heart. I was born in Welland, Ontario (Canada) and raised nearby in the small town of Fenwick. 
Growing up in such peaceful surroundings, sheltered from the rest of the world, it was a sanctuary of sorts. At least it probably was for my parents. Me? I thought it was the most boring place in the world as a teenager. 
There was 'nothing to do' but use our imagination...and work in the garden.
I met my husband-to-be at the age of eighteen, at nineteen we married and moved away. For twenty-six years we moved around our great country but it wasn't until I turned thirty when my father passed away that I learned to appreciate the lessons I'd learned growing up in that 'boring little town'. 
That was the year my love for gardening was born...again...as a tribute to him. A way, albeit a small one, to pass something Dad loved on to our children. It took longer for me to recognize my love of writing, my NEED to write. 
I'd spent a great deal of time as a kid writing poems, letters, whatever I was in need of at the time, without a thought then that it was something I HAD to do. I've always kept a journal (although I throw them out when I've filled one - who really wants their 'feelings' sitting around in books for someone else to read after we're gone?). Ideas for books would flit about in my head to be dismissed by my own negativity...after all, who was I to think I could write? 
As one by one my sons grew up, running their own lives, writing was what I turned to, to fill in the gaps, and I realize, at the age of fourty-eight, that writing is as much a part of me as breathing. My love of family will always come first, but my writing is a very close second and always will be whether or not I am ever a 'published' author...but getting published would be icing on the cake!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Welcome!

I can remember a time - not that many years ago - when learning to use chat lines and Facebook was daunting and scary territory. As with anything else in my life though, I embraced it, learned from it and conquered it. Now, there's not a day goes by when I'm not 'checking my news feed' or seeing 'who's online today'. And that brings me to my being here today...blogging.
I didn't think I would ever do it, and I must confess to feeling a little out of my league here, but, at the suggestion of some friends, I've now jumped on this bandwagon they call blogging.
Be it good or bad, here you will find a variety of poems, jokes and witticisms, with maybe a short story or non-fiction article or two thrown in and I do hope you will enjoy them.

"Reading makes the world go round."