Spring Mania

I woke at 5 AM this morning, no alarm clock needed. With the threat of my husband's 6 AM alarm, any sleep I would've gotten after that point would have been counter-productive as I would have woken in the wrong cycle. Just go with it. I got up, took care of the dog, meditated, and started blogging all before my husband got up for the day.

photo by David Gerbec

I could list the activities for the rest of the day, but suffice it to say I was going a mile a minute. I kept making alternate promises to the faithful pug that we would walk or nap. Well, I didn't actually say the "W" word out loud--just in my head.  I did , however, say the nap word and that was enough to send pug into spinning circles every time I got close to the staircase.  I was tired, but then I would get distracted by a thought of a design idea or run to the internet to look up a technique I needed for the next project I am attempting. One of my notions had me running to Michael's again. Word to the wise--don't buy a huge canvas on a windy day and then mistakenly park two superstores away. Unless of course, you like wind-surfing on asphalt.

Yes, I am smack dab in the middle of spring mania. I am not a winter girl. Freezing temperatures render me as inert as an ice cube. In the summer heat, I wilt.  Right now I am in the sweet spot. No heat. No pollen. No bugs. I can open a window and breath deeply. AH!  I want to do everything. And part of the delusion is that I actually believe I can. The problem is that I need to temper my excitement, lest I rush myself because of some panic that my ideas are coming faster than I can realize them.  The last thing I want to do is enter a project in full-on zing mode. I need a calmer presence of mind to keep myself in the zone where I can actually accomplish anything.

I'm looking to exercise and meditation to help me even out my jagged edges. As much as I want to wake up tomorrow and launch into painting my parking-lot wind-sail, I know it will serve me better if I write for an hour or so upon rising and then take a time out to go walking with the Misty Morning Walkers. Ninety minutes of hoofing it at a fast pace will get me into a calmer state of mind when I finally sit down with my canvas. I am excited about the new painting and my idea for it. It is either going to be fabulous beyond words or really stink. I can feel it. Or maybe that is just the mania talking. It is a mixed-up mindset in which everything exists as an extreme.

I don't know if other people get this way come springtime. I have not been paying attention long enough to know if this is normal for me. Then again, this is the first year that kids' activities have not slowed me down. No cooking meals for an entire cast during production week of a drama show or hand delivering frozen cookie dough that was the track team fundraiser. Maybe it is my children that have kept me tethered to earth for this long. What am I without their grounding energy? I have no idea, but as an artist and writer, I know these times are special.  I need to pay attention when the muse calls my name. Is it mania? Maybe or maybe not, but whatever this frenzy is, I am going to harness it and ride the wave for as long as I can.

Overcommitted or Should be committed?

Spring is here and I know it from the way I am zinging around in my head--usually when I am trying to meditate. Bounce with me. This week I figured out some new decorating schemes in our house that involved selecting and buying paint to paint one wall. On this wall should go some photographs. So I selected some photos. Photos must be framed. I went on a preliminary shopping expedition for frames. Now the adjacent walls need new artwork to go with the scheme. A painting has started to formulate in my head. But back to the photos. While I was on Shutterfly thinking about which photos I want to order, I decided to do a few pages in the hiking photo album I am creating. Nothing like a little mid-day graphic design.

I am writing lyrics to a song. Yes. A song. Why? Because the words were there. I need to write down what I can until Maren comes home to help collaborate with me. Where was I before I was so rudely interrupted by uninvited lyrics? Oh, yes, digging out my painting supplies to paint a large wall painting. But then my fabric shipment came. Apparently I have decided to sew my own wardrobe now because I was so upset at the choices of dresses when I  was looking online for something to wear to an upcoming spring wedding. Do I just decide to sew a dress? No. I order fabric for a dress, two pairs of pants, two skirts, a pinafore (yes, a pinafore), a slip which can double as a pinafore, and a blouse. Guess what fabric doesn't come with my order because they ran out of the color I wanted? Yes, the fabric for the dress to wear to the wedding. Sigh.

A friend's son just got an operation, and I signed up to bring her family a casserole. But then I heard another friend is going in for an operation on the day I signed up to make the casserole, so I thought--what the heck--I'm making a casserole for us and for the friend. What is one more?

The community garden has started. I was planning out my plot when my neighbor offered me some peas to plant. If you have peas, you need a trellis. I used to have the cutest trellis that Mark and I made from scratch a la Martha Stewart instructions. Go to the hardware store and get supplies (which was naturally a separate trip from the paint-buying expedition.) While we are at the hardware store, we might as well look at tubs. If we are looking to put in a new tub, then the bathroom naturally needs painted. Pick up some more paint swatches for that room.

We have plans to go to New York soon to visit Maren and hike the Brooklyn Bridge. Then it is on to spend Easter Sunday with Jonah, the 'rents, and our friends Jeff and Kathy. We have tickets for two concerts, two plays, and a comedy show in the coming weeks. Oh, and did I mention? I did get voted onto the Forest Committee last Monday for a two-year term.

Lest you think this is all a giant ploy to procrastinate writing my novel, I will have you know that I am back at it. Writing with enthusiasm this time. This is springtime in my head. It is like this most years, and amazingly, I do get most of my projects accomplished--somehow. Mark is no different. Between the two of us, we are about as crazy as two people can be.  But somehow the energy of imagination ends up being the energy we need to fuel our ambitions. All I can say is, thank goodness I finished my quilt.