SILENCE & REST

365 Days of Thanksliving — Day 267

I didn’t hear her get up. I had no idea what time it was, or that my wife had already been working for nearly an hour and a half. All I knew was that the sun had come up and the electric rooster hadn’t crowed. As my eyes naturally awoke and caught a glimpse of morning light, my ears heard nothing except silence in the house.

To my right and left, one at my chest and the other at my feet, lay my boxer boys, also oblivious to the human clock. I reached out to pet Arlo, who just looked at me and flopped his tail once or twice. Gus-Gus? He wasn’t having it, perhaps just thinking we’d stay in bed all day. Gus does that.

Sorry, boys, the bladder calls. Time to get up. Besides, there were errands to run.

Nope. This wasn’t Saturday. This was today: the first day of the staycation to do whatever the spirit whims. This morning, my body wasn’t having it. There was no waking to the normal circadian alarm as I do most days.

Like a loafer, my body and mind stayed horizontal until… oh, about 8:45 am. Truthfully, I felt embarrassed that I slept that long. I guess that inner teenager—who never wanted to get up on Saturdays until mom and dad forced the issue—arrived in his silver DeLorean from 1986. But good golly, sleeping in felt glorious.

What a bum, right? King Solomon might’ve said as much. He recorded this in his book of wise sayings:

“How long will you stay in bed, you slacker? When will you get up from your sleep?” —Proverbs 6:9, CSB

Geesh Solomon, you sound like my parents. Hahaha!!!

My wife? She just let me sleep. Her doing so was kinda nice. In my inner rationale, I figured my body needed that rest. Besides, that’s what this week is for: rest. No alarm. No meetings. No visits (unless necessary). Nothing but a week of rest and silence for the mind.

Tonight, I’ll hit the hay turning off the alarm again, letting my body do as it wills come the morning. Should I awake at 7:20 as I do most days, fine. Should I awake earlier or later, that’ll be okay too.

Tomorrow, I’m planning on taking in my rest—sleeping in till whenever, then grabbing my camera and lenses, and finding some abandoned buildings to capture. (Suggestions welcome if you know any).

Today, I’m grateful for the time to sleep in, to not have to go into the office, to not have to set my alarm, and to not feel pressured to do anything except run some errands (and even then, there was zero rush to get those done). Thank you, Lord, for the day of rest. May I have another?

What are you thankful for today?