Defining Rural

I didn’t want to wake up this morning. I wanted to sleep in for a long, long time. This is not a bad thing for I am usually an insomniac waking up at 2 in the morning to ponder details that seem important, but truly aren’t. When the alarm went off a 5:50 this morning, I groaned. Usually I say, “About time” since I’ve been lying awake for a good hour or so just waiting for the alarm to sound.

Not this morning. This morning I was deep in sleep dreaming about a contest where I could win oodles of money if I could give a good definition for the word “rural.” All the other contestants went before me and most had no idea what rural meant. When the judges finally got around to me I said, “Rural means a greater distance from what you think you need, which ultimately means you must drive your car way too much and pollute the natural, rural world where you’ve chosen to live.”

When the alarm sounded, I groaned (as I’ve said), but I smiled at my answer. I knew I’d won the contest even though I was no longer in the dream.
But I was still sleepy. Very, very sleepy.

Hours later I know if given half the chance, I could curl up under a warm blanket and take a long, long nap.

It’s not going to happen, but thankfully today I’ve scheduled my own massage. While it’s never happened before, I can imagine myself falling fast asleep on the massage table.
This is all a result, I suppose, of working three jobs – teaching in the mornings, walking dogs in the middle of the day, and working until late in the evening at the dog spa. I know I can’t sustain the “both ends of the candle” routine, but on June 11, teaching will end and I can sleep in.

I hope.

For now, though, my body and mind are tired. Actually, they are exhausted and aside from the teaching demands, it’s a good exhaustion. I’m at my growing edge these days learning the anatomy and physiology of dogs, massage techniques and medical documentation during my time at the pool, and continuing my education about dogs and their owners (something I do every day with my dog walking business).

I’ll be happy when my teaching job is done and I can sleep in a bit more though the early morning sun is making it difficult. Still, I’m amazingly happy. Not sure how that’s happened. Not sure how I’ve landed in a place that feels so right, but someone said to me yesterday that I am where I’m supposed to be and I guess that feels exactly right.

I guess I really did win the prize!