rainy day thoughts

so my beau whisked me away to florida for a few days as a congrats for meeting my second writing deadline (book half way done . . . yay!), and we're sitting in a darling Internet cafe while it pours rain outside. no rain for two months and we've had thunderstorms since we arrived late yesterday afternoon! however, i must confess i LOVE it. nothing beats a good thunderstorm that encourages you to stay in, hibernate, curl up with a good book, sip hot tea, and write. i began the day with a 90-minute ashtanga class that felt amazing. i'd forgotten how fabulous ashtanga is due to my past 4-year vinyasa craze. in case you don't know, they vinyasa through the entire seated portion of the series and in between left and right side. lots 'o vinyasaing! now i've gone through 120 e-mails that arrived since i was last online at 1:30am friday morning, done my yoga, and enjoying some muse time before i start my next 3 chapters.

rainy day musing:
- as i was packing late thursday night/early friday morning, i decided to wash my fave duster sweater that was sure to be the perfect piece for cool florida evenings. the washer decided to stop mid-stream, give an error message i'd never seen before, and then lock so i couldn't open it. how could the washer ruin my packing extravaganza? my beau tried to pry it open with a screwdriver, but no luck. what to do with a soggy sweater that will be stuck in the washer until i return monday night to retrieve it? needed to sleep my 3 hours before rising to get to the airport so i let go of attachment, crawled into bed with thawrted packing plans, and fell fast asleep. up at 5:45 and groggily opened the washer. to my amazement it had released while i slept so i hit spin, was able to get it into the dryer, and it was done in a matter of minutes because the yarn was acrylic rather than cotton.

i found this situation to be so similar to so much of life. a little detour happens on our road of perfect plans and we panic. i was willing to break my washer to pull out the sweater that was sure to complete my time away but it wouldn't even let me break it! then, after creating some space (much needed sleep), i got everything i'd wanted and learned a lesson of detachment along the way. how can we let go of the perfect plan, welcome challenges thrown our way, reassess, and move forward a bit easier? instead of waiting up for the sweater to dry, i got a few minutes of extra sleep and had a warm one to throw on when leaving to boot! sometimes i think the universe is humourous (at my detriment) but i love the little lessons it passes along in subtle--or not so subtle-- ways.