Missy and I are both giant dorks. We love video games, wearing matching t-shirts, and lolcats, also known as cat macros.
One thing we do from time to time is take funny pictures of our cats, and then make them into our own cat macros.
Here's a funny one that happened just this morning.
I eat this stuff up. I love that Missy is my dork buddy. One of the very best parts of being married to her is reveling in our shared odd humor. I'm grateful we make each other laugh, loudly and often.
This morning as I was walking to the train, I noticed a woman doing the same. She had some sort of mobility issue, and the walk was clearly an effort for her. That got me thinking.
I love my body. It's not without it's share of issues. I've been heavier, and I've been skinnier. I have sleep apnea, pretty bad. Sometimes I have circulation issues, where if I sit for too long, my legs fall asleep. I'm slightly nearsighted, and used to be much worse, before I had LASIK. I'm very prone to sinus infections, too.
Yet my body is also amazing. I've run half marathons. I can swim an hour of breaststroke without stopping. When I need to, I can push my body to do more than my mind thinks it can.
For most of my life I didn't think I was an athlete, which turned out to be wrong. I'm glad I figured out that was so. Through will and hard work I was able to lose an enormous amount of weight and learn to run. Since then, I have put some back, which doesn't make me very happy.
But I understand something now I didn't before. No matter what weight I am, no matter what circumstances I'm dealing with, physically, mentally, emotionally, my body is right there with me, doing the best it can with whatever life throws at it. When I work it, it responds.
That is amazing. I'm grateful for my body.
Male Mary is a gender-bending, cautionary tale about responsible behavior by S. A. Barton.
It's brilliant.
It's funny, perverse, frightening, weirdly arousing, and a great, compelling, read.
I know Mr. Barton, from Twitter, where we're twitter-buddies. We have a lot in common. Like me, he's a Taoist, and an author, albeit a way more prolific author than I am. He's also got a kickass recipe for sautéed apples and pears. You should ask him about it, sometime.
Oddly enough, when I first started following him, I somehow got the idea that he was a woman. After a particularly awkward direct message exchange about it, which we both laughed at, I resolved that I wanted to get to know him better, and would start by buying some of his stuff. Male Mary is the first story of his that I've read, but it's sure not to be the last. He's witty, gifted, and bizarre.
I'm grateful I got to know him and his work. I'd be grateful if you did, too.
Missy and I bought a new daybed this weekend. It came flat-packed, though. From start to finish, getting the bed, getting it home, and putting it together were a lesson for us in how much more capable we are, when we work with others.
I'm really really super sensitive to sleep issues.
I have obstructive sleep apnea, and sleep with a CPAP device to help me breathe properly at night.
I can sleep without it, but it's a Very Bad Idea™ to do so for more than a day.
Last week I was away on a trip, bracketed by two long drives. While I was away I got very poor quality sleep, and slept without my CPAP most of the time I was away.
Did I mention how bad an idea this was? For the past week I've been a cranky, slow moving, poor-thinking mess.
Thankfully I got to sleep in yesterday because of the holiday, and last night finally used my CPAP properly.
I slept like a baby.
This morning I'm filled with vim & vigor, and feeling like myself again. I am SO GRATEFUL for a decent night's sleep.
