Bad News, Good News
I thought sleep would come easy after basketball season. After the nights of tossing and turning and chasing my mind around the court. Basketball plays and gym paperwork and bus schedules and more paperwork and practice plans and stats and well, you get the picture.
I was wrong.
2:00am seems to be, both my husband’s and my, waking time. There is no full moon right now, so I can’t use that excuse. Often a full moon adds to my troubles. Don’t ask me why, (And if you know why, add it in the comments below) but over the years I’ve had people tell me that they have trouble sleeping when there’s a full moon, and sure enough, it’s often the case for me. Is it the power of suggestion? I don’t know. All I know is, that I’m not sleeping.
So even with no basketball to think about, just normal life stuff, my eyes pop open and my brain starts running. I try deep breathing, even yoga if I can peel myself from the bed. Jim Brickman piano music or going to a peaceful place in my mind. I can see the peaceful place, the view of the lake from the top of Wild Horse Island. The deserted beach in Cabo (before the influx of evening sand flees). The cozy cabin on Orcas. And there are others. I have tried many, but they don’t work. Nothing works. Nothing brings me peace.
My husband gives up and heads to the gym at 5:15am. I should go play basketball, and used to on occasion, but the only thing I like about working out in the morning is that the workout’s over. That’s not enough for me. I close my eyes tight and try again. If I work hard, I can do it! I take a deep […]
To Health
I spent three days in bed. Eyes clamped shut. Head throbbing. Bones aching. Stomach spinning and squeezing. Only escaping occasionally to crawl to the toilet. It was impossible to sleep, read or watch TV. Misery.
Now that those days are gone, (even though I’m up to my armpits in life’s shit to catch up on) I sure am happy to be back on my feet and boy, am I appreciating the good days!
Tokens of Affection
I’m not big on Valentine’s Day, not that I dislike it, but normally it’s like any other day, I have no overblown expectations of “things” that I should receive, and generally grab a card for my husband and kids to celebrate the day. But this Valentine’s I’m making an effort to appreciate the day, and more than anything, appreciate my connections.
According to Dictionary.com, Valentine’s Day is observed in honor of St Valentine as a day for the exchange of Valentine’s and other tokens of affection. Can those tokens of affection be unseen exchanges of friendship and caring? Do they need to be red & pink candy or chocolate hearts? Can tokens of affection be given to oneself? Is this cheating?
This morning my husband woke up early, and tip-toed through the house so that I could sleep. I heard him gathering things in his office. I snuck up behind him and gave him a kiss. “Have a safe trip. See you tonight.” I said. He was flying out of town for the day. “Happy Valentine’s Day.” He said, and returned the kiss as he rushed out the door to the airport.
A token of affection.
At 10:08 I knocked on Jenny’s front door for our weekly Thursday writing date. The table was set with pink plates, freshly baked cookies, old fashioned candy hearts. “Smile” ,”Hug Me”, “Text Me” (maybe not so old fashioned) inviting me to share the day. I added chocolate covered strawberries to the table. We hugged, opened our journals and began to write.
A token of affection.
When I got home I placed two silly cards for my kids on the kitchen table. (maybe I’ll even get a hug later in return.)
A token of affection.
This afternoon I’ll sneak in some work. No […]
January Jump Start – Day 31
I’m a little disappointed in myself for being late with today’s prompt, but I do have a pretty good excuse for my tardiness, the girls basketball team that I coach won a big game last night that clinched our division title and guaranteed us a spot in the District Tournament.
I crawled into bed exhausted from a long day of stressing over a game that had SO much influence on our overall season, as well as organizing Senior Night and coaching the game, that when my alarm went off at 11:00pm as a reminder to me to get my prompt in…I didn’t get up.
Sorry.
A huge congratulations to those of you that have followed on this writing journey. I know that having the focus of January Jump Start has increased my time with pen on paper, and fingers on computer keys. I hope you have found this time to be helpful as well.
Write on!!!
January 30, 2013 – Writing Prompt: Write about what matters
Meet Sonya
Meet Sonya
Sonya Elliott’s memoir, Back on the Court: A Young Woman’s Triumphant Return to Life, Love & Basketball, is her story of finding hope in the wake of tragedy after she and her fiancé were hit by a train. She blogs about writing, basketball, and life and is currently working on a Young Adult Novel and a Non-Fiction Coaching book. Stories of her career as a fashion model are woven through her memoir, as both the Soloflex and Easy Spirit Shoes commercials were filmed during that time period, and this unique and intriguing business continues to be a part of her life.
Sonya played basketball at Eastern Washington University and was a starter for the Big Sky Champion team that went to the 1987 NCAA tournament. She coached for almost 25 years and was voted Seattle Times Coach of the Year, Seattle Officials Women’s Basketball Association Coach of the Year, and twice voted Metro League Coach of the Year. She loves the game of basketball and is thankful, not only for her husband and kids but for her ability to continue to get back on the court.
Blog
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: Adjust and Enjoy
This morning everything was getting in the way of writing my blog. The dishes, the laundry, and just as I was sitting down to get to work, my husband. Granted he came with a decaf tall latte in hand, my usual (and favorite), and a cheerful, “Happy Mother’s Day.”
“It’s not Mother’s Day.” I said.
“Yeah, but it’s this weekend…and I’m going to be gone.” he reminded me.
He is going on a motorcycle trip. I told him I thought Mother’s Day was the following weekend but I was really not sure. I guess I could have pulled it up on my computer as my hands were perched over the key board in mid-sentence, but we just pondered the fact and then he plopped down next to me.
Would it be rude to keep typing?
I tried, but I’m not good with someone staring at me. Still, […]
Monday’s Pen to Paper: A Little Pressure Can Be Good
My spring writing class starts Thursday and I’m not ready. We are supposed to have a description of our book and the plot, and the first 10 pages ready to go. I don’t write my books from start to finish so this is a small problem for me but not one that I can’t figure out with my pen in hand and my butt in a chair. It’s time to get to work.
Sometimes a deadline is all you need.
WRITING PROMPT: Write about a deadline that you scrambled to reach…
PeaceLoveBasketball Friday: My Take on Basketball Shooting Machines
I’ve had several people try to convince me to buy a basketball shooting machine for our basketball program. My response is always, “One, we have no storage space. Two, what’s wrong with finding a partner, working together on good passing and catching the ball in motion like you would in a game? And three, we work hard for our money, let’s spend it on things ALL the girls will benefit from.”
Yesterday after my Women’s Rec-League basketball game, one of my teammates (who is also a high school coach) asked if we had a machine. I gave her my patent response.
She gave me her opinion. She explained how her machine tracks a person’s shooting and can be set to pass the ball in different areas. “I love it.” She said, “In fact, I’m going to pull it out and get some shots […]
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