I Had Plans

Posted on by
Photo by Anastasia gezalova on Unsplash

I had plans this morning, about what I was going to write, after my first morning outing with Beaumont the Sheepadoodle, after meditation, after making a latte.

I did get my saunter with Beau and now it’s 7:30. I’ve been up since 6. At least out of bed since 6. I woke at 5. Consciously tried to put myself back to sleep for an hour. Isn’t that kind of a contradiction though? How can I be conscious about trying to sleep?

There’s a lost hour or so in there.

It happened because I clicked on a link when normally I’d be clicking on my meditation playlist.

The click took me to David Kanigan’s blog place Live & Learn. It was the quote that did it. It appeared in my email before I got to the browser to type in my playlist.

The quote appeared under the title of his post today, Tuesday Morning Wake-Up Call. It’s from Ann Patchett in an article she wrote for Harper’s Magazine dated Dec 9, of last year. Dec 9 is my birthday. It must be a sign I need to read the article now rather than wait for my ‘reading hour’ later in the day. “There is a magnificent quiet that comes from giving up the regular order of your life.” Patchett wrote.

There’s a magnificent quiet that comes from reading a beautifully crafted and poignantly beautiful article in Harper’s Magazine in the early morning hour of dawn’s awakening.

In his description beneath the photo and link, David writes, “Take a moment to read the entire essay: “These Precious Days.” Long, but worthy.” The ‘take a moment’ was a bit of an understatement.

But then, great things are often those things we overlook until we take the time to really see them, or as in this case, read them.

I spent an hour following the breadcrumbs from David’s place to an article in Harper’s Magazine. It unfurled itself across my computer screen like layers of delicate Phyllo pastry encompassing the equally delicate flavours of spiced feta cheese and spinach baked to perfection.

In the end, I didn’t lose an hour. I found myself immersed in story.

If you want a gift of self-care, if you want to feel tears and laughter, bemusement and wonder, follow the link. It’s a precious gift. And it’s a great mystery. It starts with a note from Tom Hanks and unwinds from there.

Click here to read the article.

Click here to go to David’s place.

Whichever you click first, click the other too. You will find yourself in words and images and story and life unfolding. A most wonderful place to land.

22 thoughts on “I Had Plans”

  1. I had plans too … and then I went down that Ann Patchett rabbit hole – wow, what a great read. About Sooki and Tom and Karl and mushrooms – who knew?

    We are, all of us, ALL a story. A story worth telling.

    Thanks so much for the great read!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

  5. OH MY GOSH…. There’s me – sitting with streaming eyes – trying to stand up and sitting down again – my legs trembling (I had another fall a week ago and my one knee is weak, swollen, hurting and my legs both look like modern paintings) – I SO wanted an early night because I can’t sleep (hi DK! but now it’s because of HH’s snoring AND my legs hurting so much) – but I also adore Ann Pratchett – and I loved Sooki the minute I read about her fab coat – so I read and read and read – I can’t even comment, it’s such a turmoil of emotions, joy, sadness, marvel and breathlessness!
    Bless you dear Louise, DK, AP, Sooki and all, dear Karl, with such a generous, giving heart and attitude. It’s GOOD to read about people doing such great things, and I felt very small because I gave shelter to a woman I didn’t know when I offered her our house to find rest and I came to loathe until I told her 10+ months later that I wouldn’t take her back after her holidays…..
    Now I MUST go to bed, I can’t see a thing any more and I haven’t done any of my chores I planned before ‘that early night’….. so – good night!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply ↓

    • I’m so sorry to read you fell! I too once ‘gave shelter’ to someone – it was wonderful until it wasn’t. I love Karl and Anne’s openness and Sooki’s grounded presence and Tom Hanks humanness. And… I so adore you! GO TO BED! And I agree… that fab coat!!!! So glad her story hasn’t ended. ❤

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply ↓

      • I absolutely adore Tom Hanks (and Kate Winslet) for their relative normal, human sand not star-struck behaviour. They are REAL everyday heroes. Giving joy and entertainment to others – as we try to too 😉
        And same as you, I feared an ending….

        Liked by 2 people

  6. Just finished the story. She is a good writer! I love the tapestry and the texture of this real-life experience. It gets me to wondering about the mystery of this thing we call life and how the strands of each of our lives touch others.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply ↓

    • So sorry you have a headache. that work thing — you do so much to create a better world. Thank you.

      I hope you do! Create a reading hour. It’s quite divine! And thank you. Let me know how the story settles in you please. ❤

      Like

      Reply ↓

  10. well worth the time spent this afternoon, lying in the sunlight post family outside visit, reading this story. Finding the good in people. Relishing how the connections are easy to see backwards but not forwards. How Ann must know the ending before she begins but life, in real time, doesn’t unfold that way. Seriously that might be the best story I’ve read in a really long time. Thanks for sharing!

    Like

    Reply ↓

Real conversations begin with your comments. Please share your thoughts.

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.