December 2019

by Tom Swift

8 Sunday

  • Days off.
  • Long mornings.
  • Extra rest.
  • More time with the little buddy.
  • When sleep gets in your eyes.
  • Water.
  • The washing machine.
  • Honesty.
  • The capacity to be honest when being honest might cost you something.
  • Nancy Pelosi.

7 Saturday

  • Free pizza.
  • Extra dough. Cash, that is.
  • A workout that energizes you.
  • Steak for breakfast.

6 Friday

  • Loss.
  • Facing fears.
  • Not holding on.
  • Not chasing.
  • Letting go.
  • Relief.
  • Learning from your actions. Not even learning from your mistakes, really, because sometimes the learning opportunities aren’t wrong actions per se — just instances in which you identify that it might be helpful to take a different tact at a future time.
  • The value of having and building equity in multiple areas. When you get disappointed by something in one area you can lift yourself up on the foundation of another area.
  • Coffee.
  • Momentum.
  • Being in a highly energized environment. It’s draining and intoxicating at the same time.
  • Sadness.
  • A cheeseburger after a stressful day.

 

5 Thursday

  • Dreaming of your little buddy finally catching the squirrel.
  • Late-night texts.
  • Morning naps.
  • Reading a mediocre memoir.
  • Writing during the work day.
  • Memories of past jobs.
  • Always having access to a piece of chicken.
  • Going weeks without spending money in the cafeteria at work.
  • Seeing progress as a saver.
  • Seeing progress in the form of a faster metabolism.
  • Seeing progress toward paying down a debt.
  • Darkness. Especially in the morning.
  • Motion sensor lights.

 

4 Wednesday

  • Three words: free chocolate milk.
  • Extra time to teach.
  • The chance to teach with writing.
  • Realizing you can handle another’s disappointment so well now. (Used to be a particular challenge for you.)
  • Steak and spinach salad.
  • Squirrels that still run around like it’s not winter.
  • Warm evenings for winter walks.
  • Your dog’s breath. Still on a great pace.
  • The chance to make a little extra cash before the holidays.

 

3 Tuesday

  • Busy days.
  • New opportunities.
  • Security.
  • Smiles.
  • Your breath.
  • Being enough.
  • Feeling pumped.
  • Baked beans.

 

2 Monday

  • Compost Days: days when you rest extra, yet remain gently active, writing and reading and letting life energy replenish.
  • Waking up alive.
  • Not giving in to fear.
  • Not reacting from the original wound.
  • Chicken drumsticks.
  • Clarity of purpose.
  • Spinach.
  • Choosing greater self-trust.
  • Looking out the window in the morning the day after it snowed almost all day and seeing the path you shoveled is still clear.

 

1 Sunday

  • Real conversation.
  • Sweet lips.
  • Calm canines.
  • Colby Jack cheddar.
  • Living the dream.
  • Dreaming the life.
  • Extra groceries.
  • Getting the groceries a day early so you don’t have to go anywhere on the usual day to get groceries, Sunday.
  • A day to rest. After the shoveling is done, of course.
  • Finishing a notebook.
  • Starting a new month.
  • Not being in a hurry.
  • Asking the right question at the right time.