An Hour Electricity(work) Free by Kat Magendie

The wind howls. Our chimes burst against each other in a symphony of sound. The birds work to fly from tree to feeder to tree to feeder. The red squirrels’ fur blow in swirls and tufts. The last few straggling leaves whip about in the air, straight up and then over and finally crash-land to earth. The rockers rock back and forth back and forth, and this time it isn’t the old mountain ghosts, but the force pushing against wood. Inside my little log house, I am warm and toasty. Then, a flicker, and there is the change. The sudden silence. The dimming of light on my laptop. The electricity has gone out.

In the kitchen, I hear, “Oh no! Not now!” as Roger is in the midst of preparing homemade granola bars for his spoiled wife. I say, “Oh oh,” because the heat strip in my study room where I work is electrical, and it’s a cold blustery day. I get up from my leather chair and go into the living room. Even though it’s been only moments since the electricity went out, I whine, “I’m colllddd.” I hurry to the fireplace and put on a “all-natural cheat log” (they make them out of coffee; "eco-friendly!" - Java Logs) and as it burns, I sit as close to the fire as I can—yes, I am over-dramatic when it comes to being cold; I hate being cold.

We call Progress Energy and the recording tells us it will be a few hours before the electricity returns. Me: Whine!

But then, I think, “Wait, this is such an opportunity to do nothing at all.” I grin. I then sit upon my couch, in my warm toasty clothes, small eco-friendly fire burning coffee, and play a game of solitaire. I listen to the wind howl outside. I watch the birds feed. It is a free feeling, this sudden chance away from work.

It’s only about an hour later before the electricity pops back on. Whir of refrigerator, bright of laptop. “Yayy!” from Roger as he resumes his task. But I feel a tiny flicker of disappointment.

I’d started this post to write about gratitude for electricity and the way Progress Energy is so wonderful in keeping us WNCers in warmth and light, but somewhere along the way, I found gratitude for that hour of release from any responsibility. To be able to say, “Oh, I can’t check my email. I can’t work on that project. I can’t…” Perhaps I should have “pretend outages” from time to time. Yes. Take time for yourself, my friends, for really, we do not need an “excuse” to stop and breathe. Namaste.

This cartoon touched me; I thought I’d share it, this day after Thanksgiving. I hope you all had a wonderful day:

Sassy China. by Patresa Hartman

I've been riding an Appaloosa named China. The white splotch on her thick left shoulder is shaped like the sickle and star on the Soviet flag. China is not completely into me, yet, but today she let me pick the dirt out of her frogs and shoes with a pointed metal digging tool, so I think our relationship is improving. China also let me brush the soft of her belly where the saddle was cinched too tightly for many years. "Bad horsemanship," is what my teacher, Dennis, says about the visible welts across the downward dip of her underside. He did not like the way China's previous owners handled her. He is a gentle man with calloused hands. Every direction he gives to China he calls "asking," and I like that. "Ask her to stop...Ask her to scoot back...Ask her to trot." She always complies when Dennis asks.

When I ask she rolls her eyes. She snorts and lips her bit, jerks her head toward my feet. China is sassy.

Her primary complaint with me, I think, is that every time I show up, she has to pull her nose out of the feed bucket. I am also confused about my heels and the position of my butt in her saddle while we trot. I am an awkward driver who does not fully understand the pedals. Dennis says I'm squeezing too tight, that I need to relax. He tells me to look where I want China to look, and to breathe the way I want China to breathe, and that if I relax and let it happen, we'll meld.

Dennis wears Wranglers and a cowboy hat and has gray hair and blue eyes. When he learned to ride, they didn't have saddles, so they learned bareback. He has fallen off and been thrown off; I guess that earns you respect from the horses. They follow him around even when he hasn't asked them to.

I don't want to fall off or be thrown, so I hope that China will respect me just because I'm nice and I use the softest brush in the bucket after our rides. I don't bring her apples or carrots. Dennis says the best reward for a horse is to be given a break.

I like the horse barn. I like its smell, its dirt, its gemetrical stalls. I like the creaking sounds of the saddle when I hoist it across her back, the filth on my hands after I've brushed the dust from China's coat. I like the even, heavy plod of shod feet on the dirt floor, the air that crisscrosses west and north from the wide open doors of the riding rink.

I like that although I annoy her, China continues to show up and give me sass. I am grateful for her willingness to teach me how to relax and sit upright in my saddle even when the terrain gets rough.

Burdens & Stress by Angie Ledbetter

Burdens and stress are some of the bigger pieces of baggage most of us tote around on a daily basis. Sometimes we drag them like stones behind us, sometimes we’re able to shoulder them like a light backpack, and other times, we remember to put them down for a bit and just rest. The good thing about stress, obligations, responsibilities and worries is that they make us stronger people. They help us grow muscles where none previously existed. But we must also remember to get away from our baggage so it doesn’t become our whole identity or reason for living.

I was thinking about this recently when a friend sent me one of those rare Internet folklore emails that actually makes good sense. I don’t know who the author is, but it read something like this:

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Don't pick them up again until after you've rested a while. Here are a few ways to deal with life’s burdens:

*Keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
*Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker.
*If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
*If you lend someone $20 and never see them again, it was worth it.
*It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply being kind to others.
*Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
*Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.
*Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.
*The second mouse gets the cheese.
*When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
*Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
*We could learn a lot from crayons...some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names, and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.
*A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Wanna Swap? by Angie Ledbetter

It was a typical weekend full of “do this” and “do that” things. Let’s see...Friday started off with the awful 5:30 alarm clock. (Which reminds me, why am I always in the best sleep right when the alarm rings?) After morning carpool, I had 9 hours of working a school fundraiser. Next, my sister and I set up for a surprise 70th birthday party for our wonderful mom, and started early Saturday morning getting the final preps done. Afterward, there was clean-up to do and then home to my blessed bed. Sunday, I had “kid stuff” to do and a baseball parents meeting. Did I mention my house is still decorated for Christmas and the tree is still up? My carport looks like a bomb went off in it.

This morning, the alarm started my treadmill all over again and I started to throw a minor hissy fit when I saw all the clutter and chores gone undone all weekend by the kids (and myself). This led to thoughts of what other people must do on their weekends. My mind, selfish critter that it is, immediately conjured up all sorts of restful, fun, and relaxing events they're pursuing: movies, a weekend getaway, leisurely napping, dining out with friends, playing board games or poker...oh, the list was endless. Then I stopped to really think. Do others really, truly spend their weekends in idyllic ways? Probably not. Definitely not those with kids.

More than likely, they’re doing the same kind of things I am. They caught up on chores that slid by during the busy work week; they visited sick or elderly relatives and friends; they grocery shopped; they moved a parent into assisted living; they pined for loved ones out of town; they attended long days of school baseball or basketball games; they helped an ill friend; they worked a weekend job; they dealt with chronic pains or new ailments; they cleaned the yard. Maybe a few did get a shot at some real R&R for a change, but so do I.

In reality, there’s not a single person I’d change lives with. And that fact should shut my whiny, unappreciative brain up for a day or two!