Time, Sleep, and the Importance of Rain

Time, Sleep, and the Importance of Rain ~ My alarm went off at 7:15AM. My first thought, “I don’t have to get up.” I was comfortable. I pulled the covers back over my shoulder. My next thought, “I should get up.” Within a minute of the alarm going off, I was sitting up on the side of the bed. And I was thinking about time.

We attended a memorial service last week for a young man of 25. My son had been in his class for six years in grade school. Bright, gregarious, entrepreneurial, compassionate and giving, but like so many, he succumbed to the power of addiction. His flame was just too bright for this world. The church was packed. Those who came late, stood, or sat in the windowsills. The Israel Kamakawiwo’ole ukulele arrangement of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” was performed by a former teacher, and a collective tear was shed. (If you’ve never heard the late Hawaiian singer “IZ,” also gone too soon, sing this with his heavenly voice, click here. Have a tissue handy.)

~

When you are on the other side of 50, and you have not achieved your goals and dreams,

you think a lot about time. Will there be enough time? 

Raindrops on Sweet Grass October 17, 2016 ©Kaye Kittrell

~

What is it in the brain that urges you to get up and get things done? I don’t know, but, I’m glad I have it. In exactly 60 minutes, I was dressed, the second load of laundry was in the washer, last night’s dishes were in the dishwasher, trash had been collected and taken out to the street, cat fed and watered and petted, biscuits and tea made, and I was eating my first biscuit (see my biscuit recipe here) with homemade Orange Thai chili and pineapple guava jam (more on this searing hot sweetness later).

And all that effort was just in preparation for my work day.

Biscuits with homemade pepper jelly

Time flies when you start editing. Adding editing ~ something I told myself I would never do, leave it to a professional, and I did for four years ~ to my responsibilities as a web content creator, has stolen time for my website, to share on my blog. My vlog is robbing my blog! This year has seen the addition of a vlog to my YouTube channel (43 videos and counting, click here for playlist), and it’s been necessary to edit it myself, and editing takes time, lots of it. I apologize if you have felt my absence here. I will try to find more balance when this fifth season of “Late Bloomer” comes to an end.

How does the importance of rain fit into this rumination? Yesterday we received 0.34 inches of rainfall in Los Angeles. The first measurable rain since May 5. Five and a half months without any rain. It rained so softly and for so short a time, I was stunned to find I had collected 160 gallons of rainwater. I could have collected twice as much. 🙁  (Watch for my “Rain Tour” vlog coming this week!)

My entire summer garden was watered with the last of my rain capture and city water, filtered and unfiltered. I have a 20-gallon plastic bin that I call my “dip-and-go” where I collect filtered tap water. It speeds up the job of hand-watering. I hauled so many heavy watering cans this summer I tweaked a disc between my shoulder blades that is still recovering. And it took a lot of time. (And I won’t go into the two face plants I took in my cramped garden.)

Yesterday’s return of rain, little though it is, takes the watering pressure off of me for a few days. And that is a blessing. Because I have footage for two episodes and six vlogs in various stages of development, and I need to be sitting right here getting that together.

I am not a person to remember a lot of things that people have said, both privately to me, and publicly that I read somewhere. But I remember this quote from one of my favorite actresses Jessica Lange many years ago. “If I didn’t have children, I wouldn’t get out of bed.” Even beautiful, talented, and successful people struggle with depression, which fosters lack of will and motivation. (If you have a loved one struggling with depression, you know what I mean.) Even though I am not where I need to be (20,000 more subscribers would certainly help!), I’m still working, and motivated to inspire, and hope I have a lot more time, and we get more rain! – Kaye

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Tags: addiction, and the Importance of Rain, biscuits, blog, community, contemplation, curbside gardening, depression, do-it-yourself, farming on small scale, gardening, gardening web series, green your world, growing your own vegetables, inspiration, Kaye Kittrell, Kaye Kittrell Late Bloomer, Late Bloomer, Los Angeles, loss, motivation, rain, rainfall in Los Angeles, remembrance, rumination, Sleep, time, Time Sleep and the Importance of Rain, urban gardening, web series

Category: Garden Musings, Rain