July 23

07-23-2018

"...each man or woman
is a mansion in a condition
between grandness and disrepair,
And even in a grand palace.
Sometimes...
One forbidden room,
Contains doors locked with
Deadbolts of guilt, sadness or grief...
Off limits - not so as to deceive...
But the consider the architecture
Of those rooms to be inconsistent
With the design of the rest
Of the structure..."
(Paraphrased from Dean Koontz)

Like all things in life,
Most of us present the person,
That is expected of us.
But,
That does not mean
that what is seen outwardly
Is what any of us actually feel.

My palace is built on steady ground.
I have long sung the praises
Of those who have been the rocks
That keep me going.

I very much like the idea
Of depicting ourselves as a palace.
With the visitors to our world
Able to see only the pristine rooms,
The perfect areas of ourselves.

The palace kitchen
And more casual rooms for those
In the inner circle of our friends
And family members
Where we can be a little more
Laid back, but still guarding
Our personal space.

Our loved ones
Who are allowed into our private bedroom
And have seen the real us
At our best and at our worst.

And yet still,
There is always a hidden space,
Even if it is only a shoebox
Hidden in a drawer,
That we guard carefully
So no one sees.

I like the idea
That I am not alone doing this.
I think I feel better knowing
That others have their hidden rooms
Closely guarded secrets
That make them who they are.

Today,
A bit of a new beginning for me.
As I will soon be on vacation
With many early mornings
And even more late nights,
I have begun a new day plan.

Alarm at 8:30
And downstairs by 9am.
I will avoid naps,
And do my best to stay up until 11pm.

I will also be attempting
To do things in the heat
And find ways to alleviate
The discomfort as best I can
For my coming trip.

Hopefully tomorrow will also include
Me doing the stairs at Timken
To strengthen my legs
And my stamina for the trip.

Today was all about
Taking back my house.
With the renovation so close
To finally being done,
The mess was taking its tole
On my very sanity.

I repiled, and organized everything
Into the dining room area
So I could have my living room
Back in proper order.

I also did laundry,
Cooked supper
And straightened the front porch.

On a tv break,
I elasticized over 500 lengths of ribbon
For Saturday's crop I am vendoring.
***Thanks to a friend who dropped off
Some much needed elastics!

Another friend is home again
And I am looking forward to some
Summer adventures with not only her
But my little "gang" of compadres.

Ok.
I have an hour left
Before I can go to bed
According to the plan...
I wonder what I can straighten
In that time?!?!?!

Good night from John Street