Present – September 2020 Update

Today I’m joining Honoré at Morning Glory Studio with her One Little Word linkup. We gather on the last Tuesday of each month to share a few thoughts about our word of the year. My 2020 word is Present (click here to view all of my posts on this topic this year). Today I’m sharing a moment in which the feeling of being present ushered in a feeling of belonging and relief.

A Sunday morning this month:
I am awakened at 3:52am by the baby crying out. I go upstairs, rub her back, give her comfort, sneak back downstairs. Good — there’s still a few minutes until my alarm goes off at 4:25 and I really start my day. It’s 30 degrees and I just want to crawl back under the covers. I step one foot back into my bedroom and Baby Birdie calls out again. I go back upstairs, rub her back, give her comfort, and sneak back downstairs. Here is where I decide: no more time in bed.

I switch on the coffeepot – it’s set to brew at 4:10, but I start it early because, clearly, today will start earlier than anticipated. I sit with my notebooks, fill in all of my trackers, yesterday’s entry for my 5 year journal, and write my daily page in my journal. I turn to my computer, put the finishing touches on a Sunday poem post, and click publish.

I begin working on other posts that will be published throughout the week. I take a break, check my blog notifications, and see that there’s engagement with the poem and emails from bloggers and real life friends arriving as I sit there. Who are all of these people?, I think. Who else is awake right now? Of course, some of this is attributed to our globalized nature, allowing us to connect with people around the earth in real-time.

And some of it is because I’ve slowly found a group of kindred spirits – others who are also awake before the sun, seeking moments of calm and stillness before the day starts, who are anxious to find hope in our everyday lives.

And in this moment, I feel perfectly present. Knowing that there are others – in this moment – doing the same thing as me. Sitting at a desk. Surrounded by notebooks and half-baked thoughts and full of fears. Looking for hope. Seeking peace. And finding it in each other.

So thank you. Thank you to Baby Birdie for knowing the perfect moment to cry out and activate the mother inside of me. Thank you to my coffee pot for brewing the potion I need to activate my thoughts. Thank you to my blogger friends for reading and activating my connections with you all and helping me find purpose in this early morning ritual. Thank you.