Happy January!

Tis the time of year when all the crackiness that is Florida pays off.

Beach Seed

Work Rituals

Mr. Chapman and Buddy the furry chicken

There are two things that start my nights at work: One is a cafe con leche from Sandy's and the other is a greeting from this man.

"Have a good night, now." is what I hear while riding past his house. To me he is the mayor of Bahama Village.

Yesterday him and Buddy were enjoying some sun and I approached him saying "You look so cozy with your chicken can I take a picture of you?"

He obliged and even made the chicken get up and pose. 

That's a good man.

Flashback

Sun Salutation

Listening to the Big Head Todd and the Monsters station on Pandora and painting. Having happy Boulder, Colorado and early 90's flashbacks.

What a difference some sleep and a good meal makes.

Angry Toddler Time

Exhaustion. Fumes.

The holiday crowds haven't let up a bit. In fact they keep getting bigger to my surprise. Took on an extra shift for a co-worker who needed to attend to a family emergency this week and reached my breaking point at approximately 9:54pm last night.

As I watched my entire section get up and then get filled yet again all at once, I had a meltdown. Right after I had a full round of bizarre food allergies and mathematician feats of splitting checks with decks of unknown gift card balances and an array of single lady credit cards.

Ever have mental and physical exhaustion show up as an inner angry toddler? 

What does that look like? Dropping f-bombs at a wall and saying aloud "I have to get out of here" over and over again while standing next to your manager. 

Basically having your whole body, mind and soul scream with a resounding NO. NO, I am not doing this. NO way. NO how.  

As my concerned co-workers watched my evolution into the Incredible Hulk, they asked if there was anything they could do. I could not answer or had no clue where to start due to blinding toddler rage. So I let it have its fit for a minute, sucked it up, stuffed a smile on my face and went through another theatrical reading of "What's good here?" to the newly seated masses.

Its not that this is uncommon or bad. Its just that I'm tired with a capital "T" and that makes a huge difference.

Realized just how tired on Sunday when I couldn't form coherent sentences while talking to my sister about how to word things on her resume. My mind had shut off for the day and it refused to come back on. It does that. So does my body.

I am not a robot. When I reach robot status, my mind and body revolt.

Its ok, I got it all out. There is plenty of good going on too. 

A trip off the rock in a week to get some much needed reboot time. A.K.A. De-robotizing time.

Applying for a space in a local artisan fair and realizing I have plenty of stuff to show but also I've got lots of ideas and plans for much more.

Taking a look at my flights for a yoga/art retreat in Bali and figuring out if I can sneak out to see Hong Kong on my overnight layover. Hong freaking Kong. A place I never even thought about going to. If I'm excited about a layover, imagine what the actual trip will be like.

Learning how to again fully participate and drive my retirement planning in a non-corporate environment. (Yes, you still need to plan for retirement in paradise according to my midwest sensibilities). 

I don't know why they teach home economics in schools. Give me investment classes and car mechanic schooling. If you're hungry or need a button sown, a natural human instinct kicks in or you visit a Circle K.

So what's on the day off docket? Appeasing my inner toddler which includes a trip to Old Town bakery for some pastries and coffee. Escaping into some awesome library books. Painting and creating while enjoying the moody clouds. And the adult in me will be doing some laundry cause my toddler needs some clean work clothes and undies for tomorrow.

Above are some pics of the water whilst on a dusk bike ride on my night off. The water was so incredibly beautiful it was hard to capture on camera. Never thought to describe it this way, but the shimmering rainbow coloring looked like an oil slick. 

Minus the oil.

Ccccccccold Front

Low to mid-sixties.

Fingerless gloves weather.

Making some amazing Ccccclouds

Impermanence

The busy holiday season winds down with a visit from some friends and their young son. 

As I showed them around yesterday we took a turn into Ft Zach for some beach time. Their son E, likes to build. And build he did a fort with a deep sitting hole complete with wall to protect it from the sea. When it was time to take a swim, I noticed another kid take over the fort.

Lets call this kid "Squatter" or better yet "Squat".

So Squat sat enjoying his newfound home and E noticed quickly turning to rage as he realized an outsider had invaded.  E, ran up but got shy when he closed in and just stared at the kid longingly to have his fort back. 

The kid stone cold ignored E and he returned to the ocean realizing what he built was gone.

Swim time once again and as it got chilly, I decided it was time to get out. I saw the fort was unattended so I took it over. Yup, sat my adult ass right down in that hole and shook my fist in the air to E's father in an act of victory that we had jokingly reclaimed the fort.

As I did my victory hole shimmy, Squat came quickly over and gave me a death stare. 

"Hey that's MINE!" he said.

For someone who has had to share all her favorite places these last two weeks with hoards of visitors, I couldn't believe the grip this kid had on something that wasn't truly his. So I gave him a schmoopy sad face but refused to budge.

E's mother watching my kid stare down came over to smooth the ever growing situation. 

"Don't you want to share?" she sweetly said.

I concurred, "Yeah, don't you want to share??" asking nicely with schmoopy face.

"NO! IT'S MINE!!!!"

As I looked at this kid, wanting to say it, but thinking it instead: ("No, its not.") A giant wave came up and washed the entire fort away. 

(Sidenote: there are no waves in Key West which makes this ever more awesome)

His look went from rage to disbelief and mine went from schmoopy to a giant laughing grin. It was the perfect way to resolve this issue.

Time to rebuild and we asked Squat if he'd like to help E. He did and became a whole different kid.

Made me think about how we often hold on tight to outside things in an attempt to make us feel complete. 

Wondered also if most of the world's conflicts could be resolved with a simple lesson in Impermanence. It is not mine. It is not yours. Everything changes. 

But most of all it gave me the most gratifying laugh and finale to this crazy holiday season.