Back to School
Well it had to happen, the two week holiday break from working at the medical school came to an end this morning.
Somewhere around December 24th or 25th the alarm clock actually got unplugged and just got energized and calibrated a few days ago. It wasn’t just the sleeping in but not chasing the clock that made for a break.
I did some wishy-washing back and forth, I’ll take the bus… no I’ll walk… bus… walk. I opted to walk, the exercise of a forty minute walk to work is welcome after 2 weeks mostly spent indoors. It wasn’t terribly cold, not as cold as it will be a month from now. It may even rain in Halifax this afternoon. As nice as it was to take in some fresh air, I left behind 2 cats, a dog who got used to 24/7 attention and Alex who had one more day of vacation before going back to school herself.
I had temporarily forgotten the pleasure I take in getting up at 5am and having some quiet time to read and think. The cats and dog fuss, are fed and settle back down to near silence by 5:30.
This morning I had time to contemplate the activity in the Gaza Strip, The War in Context, The American International School in Gaza destroyed by Israel and speculation on a mailing list I follow over what direction Obama will take with the Middle East when he comes into office.
The early morning is my time to contemplate the world, not react that way I might watching television news falling into habitual disgust at death and tragedy. Morning is a time to reflect on the world around in a more compassionate way.
So the return to work brings with it my appreciation for the quiet time I take and for the two cats Scallop & Zucca, Dolce the dog and Alex that I’ll miss today and I’ll look forward to going home to, because they make my house a home.
