NS January 6th, 2008
I feel like the lethargic fog is finally lifting and I’m emerging feeling refreshed and energised. In recent days some exciting new opportunities and life changes have come to light and I will be throwing myself into them with zeal. I feel excited about the future again. After the doldrums and restlessness I’ve been feeling for the past month or two, it is a welcome reprieve. Henceforth, Noble Savage is back! Please, hold your applause (and if you can’t hear the sarcasm dripping from those words, hit yourself in the head with a comically large mallet).
In more banal (to you) but truly exciting (for me) news, the boiler is being fixed tomorrow and I should have hot water by late afternoon. Can you hear the choir angels singing? That would be me, dancing around shrieking ‘HAL-le-lu-jah, hallelujah, hal-le-lay-ay-lu-jah!’ while kissing the cat effusively (and then picking the fur out of my mouth). I’ve scrubbed the bathroom to pristine conditions and have my magazines and books stacked by the side, lovely clean flannels folded into swan origami-like shapes, a variety of scented salts, bubbles, gels, oils and shampoos, and a rose-scented candle at the ready. I am going to take the longest, girliest, hottest bath in the history of womankind. If a male or toddler of the species dare enter, they will feel the wrath of the Bathing Savage and be vanquished to the kitchen to warm my slippers in the gently-heated oven. I may even have a lovely whiskey or bourbon on hand, if for nothing more than to scare them away. I think even TNC has enough intuition to eye up the tumbler and sauna-like conditions and know that the combination of neat liquor and sweat lodge means Mummy is probably not to be messed with right now.
Cheers! Here’s to renewed belief, positive changes and hot water.
NS January 5th, 2008
Pardon these long absences between posts, will you? I don’t mean to be secretive, quiet or boring. I guess I’m just feeling out of practice after a few weeks of holiday sparsity. And also, I can’t stop reading. That, more than anything, is why I cannot find the time to put fingers to keyboard or click on my sorely neglected RSS feeds. I may not be commenting and I may read things four days after they’ve been posted, but I haven’t forgotten about any of you and I’m lurking in the background, waiting to pounce. If I’m light on words, it’s not because I have nothing to say but because I’m building up a new voice in which to speak. The way I look at it is, you’ve got to take new things in, stop and recharge, before you have anything of substance to give back. So let’s not call this a break or a rut or a lull, but a Blogcharge. It sounds so much better than the other three.
Before I stick my nose back in one of the two books I’m reading (Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult and Birth: A History by Tina Cassidy), I will just quickly share my 2008 New Year Resolutions: Be a more patient and loving mother; Remember to say thank you more often; Go where and do as my heart tells me; Read at least 30 books (such a paltry aspiration compared to Charlotte’s 100 but it’s a more realistic number for me); Stop smoking completely (I still have sneaky fags when I go out with friends sometimes); Stay or get back in touch with dear friends.
No diets, detoxing or anything like that for me. I’m trying to eat more fruit and veg, stop smoking, cut back on alcohol and junk food and get a bit more exercise but I just can’t do the weighing, fretting, measuring, calorie counting, self-deprivation thing. I know this may sound appalling and lazy to most, but I just don’t care that much about my body. I care but I don’t really care, you know? I don’t care if I never have flat abs or thighs that don’t touch or arms that would make Madonna envious. I don’t care that I’ll never be known for my figure, or if I can never wear the latest fashions because my stocky legs look ridiculous in skinny jeans and my boobs aren’t big enough for the scraps of fabric passing as tops these days. I don’t care that I can’t run a marathon, a half-marathon or even a 5K — I don’t like running. I think you should only run if it’s away from a fire or the cops, or towards your child or lover in glee.
So that’s me for 2008. Like it or lump it. Oh, and pass the donuts — this book just got really good.
