Friday Gratitudes in an Up and Down Week

It has been a very up and down week.  I haven't been sleeping as well this week--if I had been getting more sleep, would I still see it as an up and down week?  Would I have done a better job of managing my emotions if I had gotten more sleep.

I've also been on my 10 week shred this week--I'm tempted to blame my moodiness on the lack of sugar and alcohol, those coping mechanisms denied to me because of this shred.

But the more likely explanation:  some weeks are more up and down than others.  But today, let me focus on some of the good items from the week, some of the events that made me smile.

--Last night at spin class, a short story came to me almost whole.  Of course, I still have to write it down--and this morning, I wrote almost 4 pages.  I'm usually puzzling through things as I work out, but rarely do I have a story come to me the way the one did last night.

--I made chicken poblano mole again yesterday, because it had odd ingredients (raisins, chipotles in adobo sauce) that I had left over from Saturday's experiment--and because it was so delicious as I ate on Saturday's remains all week.  While the cooking resulted in much more clean up than I anticipated--not great for a week night--the prep time in the morning left me feeling happy.

--Most of my spin classes have been excellent, except for Wednesday, when I felt tired and had trouble holding a steady rpm.  Was I tired because of lack of grains in my diet for 10 days?  Tired because I haven't been sleeping?  Hard to know.

--I continue to be grateful to have the opportunity to teach online.  And I am grateful for my full-time administrator job, and the great department with whom I work.

--I'm also grateful for my fellow administrators.  As I waited to go to lunch one day (that in itself a delight), I said, "Let us go then you and I."  Our PR guy was walking down the hallway, and he supplied the next line, and later, we had a great conversation about "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" and "The Waste Lane."  Who'd have thought I would find a conversation about Eliot such a treat?

--In the down time that I've had here and there, I've gotten poetry packets prepared.  I now have a big pile to be mailed today.  It's September--time to submit as more journals open their reading periods.

--I got my final set of galleys for my forthcoming chapbook.  As I proofread, I let myself appreciate my work and be struck with wonder that I crafted these poems.  I'm usually consumed with all the ways my work could be better--but I need to remember to say, "Atta girl" to myself more often.

And here we are, a light day at work, followed by a 3 day week-end--ahhhh.