In the evenings, long after the sun has set and the children have made their way to sleep, my night life begins. The day determines the show, for it is always a show these days. Mondays I lean into the couch and wait for Castle to bring out giggles. Tuesday belongs to the Flash and the Agents of Shield afterwards. So on and so forth I burn my evenings under a soft red blanket beside my wife, engaging in the lemming’s work of being a viewer to all these shows. She says I have too many shows. I submit that more than one is probably too many. We are supposed to be creatures of thought and action, but the only thoughts I generate in this state are, ‘where is the ‘mote so I can fast-forward through these commercials’ and the only action is the petulant jabbing of those small black buttons in hopes of getting to the meat of the show with all due haste.
I used to call this kind of thing ‘research for future writing’
I also used to think the belly growing around my waste was fuel for a future spate of high-intensity workouts. I’m living in an orbit much closer to reality these days, and the reality is that it is easy to get stuck in a dead end routine. It is not so easy to get out of it.
Tony Robbins says you can tell a lot about a person by their rituals. I think rituals form and reform based on the conditions of the individual. My rituals speak of a tired body and soul drained like a battery in the Arizona summer heat. Fortunately there is respite only days away. The winter break nears and I hope to find my way back to strong energetic writing and the promise of a better tomorrow.
Perhaps a less cheesy one while I’m at it…