sweet demands

• The misery of sleeping at two and rising at six was tempered by an awesome package in the mail this morning ... a watercolor likeness of my cat (not intentionally, but it was a lovely surprise) by GeocachingOdder of DeviantArt.com.
• Forty days of I can but may not drink coffee has flipped to a possible eternity of I may but cannot drink coffee. I feel a tantrum coming on.
  
• Coming Soon! Booky Goodness - Special Edition: Scholastic Spring Book Fair. Another large case of I may but cannot. Living within one's means ... pesky reality.
  
• "Constructive comments for our Speech Festival participants in prep for Saturday?" "Yeah, stop messing up!" ... Le sigh.
  
  It's been nonstop action for over a week now. Naps and solid blocks of sleep are sorely needed but so rare. I think the constant movement is what's kept my head above water, actually. But switching tracks from weekend work to weekday work has thrown me a little ... got to find that footing again.
  
  In grad school we learned an odd but beautiful concept: the making of silence. Obviously it is difficult to teach children this skill, but sometimes it would seem even more difficult for adults. Just as peace is more than the absence of war, silence is not just the absence of noise, it is something that can be produced, maintained, and cherished. If you can begin to understand this, you can begin to understand the turn my life is taking.