Seeing as it started at 3:30 A.freakingM., my Christmas Eve was a little less than merry for some of its parts. Why so early? One of my roommates (i.e. The Three Bigs), decided he was uncomfortable sleeping on the floor and had to let me know (& then crawled into my bed with me). 

An hour and a half later, we were still awake and so was one of his siblings who was awoken by a 4:30ish bathroom break. 

At 4:50, I lost it. There was definitely yelling involved and grumbling from me about having a very sarcastic merry Christmas. And it was definitely not a shining moment or a happy holiday memory in the making.

From there I managed to fall back asleep long enough to have a bad dream, only to be woken up by another bodily function call at 5:50. From there, my oh so well rested self was up for the the rest of the day. And so were the two Little culprits. 

As you can imagine, we had some touch and go cranky pants moments throughout the day – on the behalf of myself and my (former – we are so doing different arrangements for tonight) roommates. And with a house full of family for much of the day, there were sadly no naps for anyone but the baby (who shared a room with Ben and slept like a champ last night). 

By 4:00 this afternoon, my brain was starting to feel fried. But the sun was out and the temp wasn’t bad, so we bundled everyone up to go out and play for a bit in Grandma’s yard. It would have been lovely to just curl up on the couch and let B handle that, but I thought the fresh air might do me some good, and it turns out that was very much the right call. 

When the kids and Ben decided to go help his dad with chores, I again resisted the call of the couch and instead decided to get my meditation in for the day with a walk through the farm. I am just a few days in to my 3 & 5 day plan, and just because we are away from home doesn’t mean I can let the goal slide.

The walk was excellent. I had to watch my feet a fair bit to avoid where the cows have been grazing, but I turned on the meditation timer on my phone and walked for twelve minutes until it sounded, and there I took these photos: 

I know there are those who love the mountains or the beach, but for me there is nothing more grounding and gorgeous than the prairie sky. And tonight’s view of it included the West Blue Church which is just up the hill from B’s folk’s place and has family connections to its first pastor. 

From there, my muddy and in dire need of a polish boots and I started the 12 minute walk back. 

Like any meditation sit, my mind was a bit all over the place, but the crisp air was good for my overtired brain and the walk exactly right for my still 108 sore legs. But best of all, the fog from the early morning mess lifted while I trudged through the field and back, and I can’t think of any better early Christmas present than a lighter heart and less cranky disposition. 

Well, sleep tonight would be lovely, too, so we’ll see what Santa brings. 

Merry early Christmas, all! May your celebrations be happy, safe, and walk-ready if need be!