In Between Days

Cody and I have returned to Oakland, but our bodies still think we are in Paris. Notorious creatures of the night, we find our eyes watering and a tidal wave of sleep descending at 11:00 at night which forces us to bed, only to wake up at 8:30 the next morning. It is almost a normal schedule. An odd thing for us.

This happens every time we return from Europe. It never lasts. All it takes is one or two late nights and we slip back into our inherently nocturnal ways. But for now it is kind of fun to get up in the morning since it is not in the least bit painful. Winter days seem so much longer. The chickens expect me by 9, the cats are actually eating breakfast and not brunch and I have plenty of time to talk to my East coast clients. It's strange.

Reality has been a little hard to return to, especially since my body still thinks it is residing at 7, rue Bailly, Paris, 75003 and not in Oakland. Work fires turned into conflagrations that needed containment and extinguishing. I had no choice but to jump right in. Not an easy re-entry at all and certainly not anything resembling transition at all.

That said, I am going to aim for more balance this year. I am going to do my level best to take time out to do the little things I always put off (baking those muffins, writing that letter, mailing that package, cooking dinner) in place of work. This may be difficult as the coming months are forecast to be insane work-wise, but it is an important goal for me to aim for.

I talked with both Cody and our French friends about this many times in Paris. It was a theme of the trip. I intend to take it to heart.