This is an experiment: Just record for five minutes whatever comes out of reflecting upon today. Today was a day when I was sick. A flu-like bug I probably caught from a Brannen at their Mimi’s house on Christmas Eve. I’m not sick very often. I don’t think I’ve been sick in a decade. (The upper back injury from the down-and-back chest press queue wasn’t sickness.) It was, as a result, a weird day, especially with Carla gone to visit her cousins to wish Kyle goodbye as he moves to Arizona. I finished Forgiveness: An Alternative Account and Watchmen. I cleared my sideboard drawer. I recorded a reply audio letter to Ruth, read about Josh’s surgery, and made a failed attempt to retrieve Éa Stratocaster from Mark Chaplin. I didn’t accomplish much. But that, I think was a gift, as any other member of my family will readily offer: In being slowed down by illness, I was required to take things easy. It would be no use to gear myself emotionally for an accomplishment-heavy day. Maybe I can take that vibe into days when I’m not sick? I did feel envious of Carla in how large an expanse of time she permitted herself to work on the Christmas card to Dave and Liesl. Maybe it’s OK that I do similarly. I receive a new guitar in the mail by the end of this coming week. Maybe that’ll be the beginning of something new.
For now, I’m going to pop two Advil and call it a night.