An hour ago, I was going to finally leave the house to go to the gym. It was oddly sunny today. Well, foam clouds that were sheep in the meadow white and then some ladles of sunshine and then I got distracted by writing all day. I wrote all day yesterday too, except grocery shopping to make a Lebanese chicken and falafel with salad type meal for me and my housemate. But it’s a three day bank holiday weekend so it is about snatching writing and studying French and other such moments from the air no matter what the weather outside.
And with three days, it’s even better because I can keep putting off the deep cleaning of my room. The reorganization of the drawing and painting supplies. The need to take a walk at a place further south where, one day, I saw from the bus window a river stretching into some rather green and mossy woods and a mysterious walking path next to it. But I have not moved much from my writing. I was going to go to the gym earlier. It was sunny. And then I stood up and then right then I could hear the roar. The gulls chuckling on my roof flapped away and their inane noises faded.
Just the roar and whoosh of water pounding. My windows was covered in it, the water. The gas station (I always think how Hopperesque this gas station looks) across the street looked like a hunched thing under the deluge. So I gave up for another hour, sat down, read two more poems. Marveled at the various ways we approach the short story form. Why can’t I ever find the ending? Is it too final?
I open my French verb book (yes, I am back to practicing my French…so I am somewhat optimistic) and it falls open to the word: Résoudre, which means To Resolve. Of course. And so I practice the conjugation, as if to really drive the point home, right? How many fresh story starts can one have just lying around?
And then the rain left, the roar hissed off and the gulls returned. And as I type this very sentence, the sun leans onto my window as if it were a casual friend giving me a nod in passing before sauntering on. That’s Ireland, I suppose. Even though I did nothing today, it was dynamic and shifting. Time for the gym. Running in place, no discernible ending in sight there either. Just the treadmill Stop button and a whole lot of sweat.
