Yoga -- zilch.
I've really got to get my sleeping patterns right, but sleeping through my yoga time wasn't really my fault. My alarm was set for the right time. The alarm just never went off.
I woke up because my foot had twisted strangely in my nightsplint and felt like it was being attacked by kittens. As I sat up to unstrap it, I noticed that the room was completely dark. No numbers peered from the dueling alarm clocks on either side of our bed, the ceiling fan had stopped and the nightlight we kept on in our bathroom in case RunningHammer decided to visit wasn't on.
Crap!! We lost power. I pressed the light button on my watch: 6:27 a.m.
I immediately felt Vix's side of the bed to make sure she was up and out. If she was still sleeping, she was about three hours late for work. She wasn't there -- must've gotten out of the house before the power failed -- but RunningHammer had climbed on to her pillows and curled up like a squirrel. I pulled the covers over him and grabbed the flashlight next to my bed.
I walked through the house. Yep -- everything was off. Without the binary hum of the computers in the living room, the house was hurricane quiet. On the walkway, TinyGranny stood in her pajamas smoking a Pall Mall and talking on her cell phone, telling the overnight person at Winter Park Utilities that, no, no one has been out to repair the outage even though she'd been calling since 3:00 a.m.
I pulled the trash and recycleables to the curb, watered orchids, basil, rosemary, eggplant, peppers and tomatoes, then took a hose shower outside so whatever hot water we had was available for the kids and Granny. Not that I mind being naked outside or anything.
Hammer was awake and weilding a flashlight like a lightsaber when I got back inside. "Are you going to work this day?" he said.
"Of course. And you are going to school."
"I know. When do I have a no-school day?"
"In four days."
"Because I used to be four a long time ago."
The power hadn't come back by the time I hopped in my loveable little Corolla for the race to work. Traffic seemed heavier and a fender-bender on one of the surface streets snarled things even more. Nothing seems to be working right.
This theme runs through my world too much lately. nothing is working the way it should. Needles shoot in to my Achilles' every morning and whenever I start to walk after a while, despite gently running and regularly (except for today) doing my yoga. I invested in the housing market, building one townhome and remodelling a
house, and the second both of them are ready to sell, the market goes flat.
My wonderful job is degrading in to a daily grind, opportunities drying up and being blown offshore with every corporate email I receive.
The microwave blew. The pool pump bearings whine like a chainsaw. My household is hemorraging money.
For some reason, despite all the care we've taken, SweetFaceBoy's transition from elementary school to middle school is not going smoothly. He's getting A's and B's in advanced math, science and language arts classes, is a stand-out player on his soccer team, plays a mean drum set and is on his way to being a talented orchestral percussionist. He still will still grasp my hand to hold it as we walk together in public or around the house. Yet there is an underlying unrest that manifests itself in uncharacteristic disrespectful and offensive behaviour. There's a broken bridge there as well.
Even Vix and I aren't working. She's working more because I can't pick up any more hours at my job. I've sent out resumes and applied for second jobs everywhere I can, but the resentment is high. We spend no time together and haven't for a while. More often than not our conversations begin and end in conflict. We do not shout or fight, but a tightening tension fills the growing space between us.
We're nothing like we once were. Growth and change are constants, impermanence is permanent, but it's not happening the way I thought. Well, what did you expect? a small wise voice says. It's all about money, but I thought we were more than money. Apparently not.
I'm glad I unplugged the computers and printer before I left. With my luck, the utility company will power on/power off/power on in rapid succession (they've done it before). The last time they did that it took a week to get everything working correctly.
Once I got to work I called home and learned from TinyGranny that the boys had a good morning and the lights were back on. Maybe I can do some yoga tonight if I can find the power.