As a happily retired woman I no longer need to leap out of bed shouting at the alarm clock, stumbling around in the dark wondering how on earth it can still feel like the middle of the night and wishing I could go back to bed. Oh those long ago days when each night my head hit the pillow and I slept all night. Now my brain likes to keep my best ideas until the moment I close my eyes. There they are, the people in my book dancing about in my mind’s eye acting out their story. Why on earth I get my creative inspiration at the most inappropriate times is beyond me.
Many moons ago I studied the art of meditation and decided that a good doze of mindfulness was necessary for a good start to the day. Today I decided to give this another try. This was going to be the new me, all calm, centred and brimming with creativity. The window cleaner was the first to disturb me by clattering his ladders against my bedroom window. As I lie with the blinds open so I can look at the sky at night, which I love, I leapt out of bed, tripped over the book lying on the floor and banged my knee on the bed before doing a rugby dive to grab the cord and pull the blinds down. Can’t be traumatising my window cleaner this early in the day poor man.
In the morning I like to sit and have a cuppa and chat with my husband over breakfast whilst he watches the news. I say chat, I talk, and he pretends to listen. Today, was going to be an excellent day I told him, regardless of my painful start.
My favourite day is one spent with my family. They never fail to encourage me and their support, belief and love make my world a wonderful place to be. Still there is not a day goes by when I don’t wonder how I became a published writer and have to pinch myself to make sure I am not dreaming. I was loved beyond measure growing up and my mother was one of the kindest and most beautiful souls yet I was never told that dreams came true or to believe in myself. Be thankful for what we have she would say smiling and I always was.
Today, the second person to disturb my morning calm was the postman knocking at my door. I opened the parcel and there it was. My second book, hot off the press. It is so hard to describe the feeling of actually holding the first copy in your hands. I felt tearful as my husband came over and hugged me then rang the family to spread the news. We were all going to celebrate together tonight.
Well, my day started with meditation and ended with a good few glasses of wine. Sounds like a good day all round to me.
A Christmas Angel at the Ragdoll Orphanage – Suzanne Lambert pb £6.99