Marking Time

This morning, I'm thinking about the ways we mark time.  I woke up thinking about how we gain an hour this week-end.  The light will shift in ways that will let us know the years is gliding/crashing to its close.  The pandemic is surging exponentially again, and most of us haven't even moved indoors yet.  I'm trying not to think about the 1918 flu pandemic, which was mild in comparison in the spring, and then came back with ferocity in the fall.

But let me think about two specific anniversaries which impact primarily me.  Today I will likely drink a glass of wine after 25 days of Dry October.  I had always planned to end the first phase of my experiment this week-end.  I am thrilled that I was able to go without alcohol for 25 days.  I don't remember the last time I've gone that long with absolutely no alcohol--it was likely in 2005 or 2006.  I haven't always been drinking heavily, but I've rarely gone more than 5 days without a drink.

I expected to feel energized.  I expected to have trouble sleeping at first and after that, to have better sleep.  I expected to have some sort of glow.  I expected to get a lot done.

My sleep patterns didn't change.  I had days of energy and days of crashing asleep at toddler bedtimes.  Some days I glowed, but some days I looked haggard.  I did get a lot done, but I might have gotten that stuff done anyway.

Here's the one thing I know for sure.  The only major change I made was to eliminate alcohol, and I lost 5 pounds in 25 days.  I didn't cut fat or carbs or calories, and I didn't increase my exercise.  Sadly, I still have about 4 pounds to lose before I'm at my pre-pandemic weight, but I'm happy to have made some progress.

Today also marks the 7th month of my doing a morning watch devotional time for my church congregation.  Every morning at 5:30, I read the passages from Phyllis Tickle's wonderful 3 volume resource, The Divine Hours, and I build in 5-7 minutes of meditative or creative time.  I sketch, but others might journal in words or meditate or do some yoga poses.

On that first broadcast day, I thought I'd just do a morning watch until Easter or maybe for the whole Octave of Easter (those 8 days after Easter).  But by late April, it was clear that we were early in the pandemic, so I just kept going.  It was good for me, and I figured it might also be good for a member or two.

And here I am, 7 months later, still doing it.  And it's still good for me.  I wrote a post about it on my theology blog.

Yesterday I flipped through my sketchbook, and I was astonished by what I've accomplished.  Some of that sketching happened because I was doing morning watch, which gives me a built in time for sketching each day.  Some of it happened because I was taking a journaling class with the Grunewald Guild.  I'm in the middle of doing the 6th one.  I like how my markers let me mark time in a different way.

Now let me finish getting ready for work.  It will be a much more low-key day than we would ordinarily have.  There's been no pumpkin decorating stations set up.  We will have no costume contest.  There will be no Halloween treats.  It might have been a bit more low key anyway, since Fridays are usually more quiet.  But it will feel strange nonetheless--another marker of a different time.