October 15, 2013
| Monday’s High | 84 | ||
| Monday’s Low | 55 | ||
| Days in Las Cruces | 113 | ||
| Steps/Miles walked Monday | 8065 | 4.0 | |
| Steps/Miles walked | 886,204 | 443.1 |
I have always enjoyed sleeping with the window open. Doing so brings back fond memories. Over the years, though, it has gotten harder to do so.
Somewhere in these blog entries, I tell the story of “My Friend The Breeze”. Or perhaps I called it “My friend the wind”. Essentially I relay a tale from when I was around three or four years old when on a hot sticky night, I lay in bed with the window open, and a gentle breeze came and helped me to fall asleep. This breeze, gentle and cool, I anthropomorphized into a friend; in later years I have associated this breeze with God’s Holy Spirit. Throughout the years, I have felt this same breeze in virtually every place I have ever lived. And even when it isn’t “that” breeze, I still enjoy sleeping with the windows open.
While we were living in Council Bluffs, there were only a few evenings each spring and each fall when we could do so. We lived on a very busy street, and the sound of Nascar racers zooming up and down Harrison Street made sleeping with the windows open quite uncomfortable. The high humidity also made sleeping hard, except for a few nights in the spring and in the fall.
There is, of course a number of reasons to sleep with the window open. Fresh air at night, as one sleeps, serves several benefits. For one thing, it aids in the detox process. The fresh night air tends to be higher in oxygen, thus aiding the body in production of white blood cells. Oxygen also reacts chemically with almost any other element, including bacteria, viruses, and toxins, allowing them to be cleansed from the system. It is also known to speed up growth and recovery.
Sleeping with the window open, assuming one lives in an area where the air is predominantly fresh enables one to sleep more soundly, getting a better night’s sleep.
But, there are also dangers to sleeping with the window open.
For instance, as my BBMO pointed out, sleeping with the window open increases the danger that one may be providing easy access to vampires! Most vampires do not search out their victims by prowling around. Instead, it is a well known fact that vampires tend to seek out their prey while in their Desmodus rotundus mode. Windows serve to prevent the simple desmodus rotundus from easily accessing one’s home. However, further research shows that these tend not to be found in great number in southern New Mexico.
The chupacabra, first reported in Puerto Rico in 1995, but having been sighted throughout much of the new world in the ensuing years is another threat to sleeping with the windows open. These large, bear sized creatures sport spikes along the spine, and are most well known for attacking and sucking the blood of goats. It is thought that they tend to be afraid of dogs, especially dachshunds, and so I’m not overly concerned.
Another danger to sleeping with the window open comes from varying subspecies of lycanthrope, but especially the therianthropic lycanthropus, which are known to inhabit most parts of the United States, especially the southwest. These probably are the most dangerous species for those of us with a tendency to sleep with our windows open. I’ve been told that my habit of sleeping with an aluminum foil beanie and collar are adequate protection from these beasts.
;lkuoijmlk…. Sorry. I’ve got this weird itch behind my right ear. Normally I can type AND scratch it simultaneously, but Ixchel got between my right leg and my ear…
At any rate, it is my opinion that the detoxifying benefits of sleeping with the window ooowwwwwwwpppen far outweigh any possible danger from any of the aforementioned critters.
Pant pant pant
Daily Gratitude
I’ve been asked why I use letters and acronyms for discussing people here. I do this largely because I have not taken the time to ask any of them if it is alright to mention them by name. It’s that simple.
Today my thoughts of gratitude turn to my my maternal aunt, Mom’s older sister… I’ll call her J; and also to my Dad’s twin brother, L.
I am grateful to God for J because she has always loved me. It really is that simple. Two things stand out, among all the many things J has done for me in my life.
The first is that in 1981, when I announced my intention to marry the girl who would become my wife, J was so happy for me. She was the first to congratulate me. I didn’t learn until later that she had severe misgivings about the person I was going to marry. She kept those to herself, or, perhaps she discussed them with my mother and grandmother, but they all agreed not to discuss them with me. It wasn’t until a few months later, when it became pretty obvious I was going to go through with the marriage that she sat down with me, addressed her misgivings with me one by one, and taking the time to explain that it was never too late to back out of the marriage. When I made it clear that I had heard her, but that I was going through with the marriage, she never said another word, and totally supported me.
The second is, once again tied up with my coming out story. Mom begged me not to tell J about my sexuality. But J is a very smart woman. It didn’t take long for her to figure out what was up. When we talked about it, about 2 years after I came out to Mom & Dad, I begged her not to talk to Mom about what she knew. She expressed her concerns about that, but in the end agreed. I know that was hard for her. And in the end, it was probably the wrong thing for me to do… but she honored it. And she completely embraced Scott as part of her family. I love her for that.
As to why I am grateful for L, the first reason is simply he is my uncle. I have a harder time putting this into words. He simply was, and is, a sure rock and foundation to my life. He is unchanging, it seems. At 88 years of age, he swims daily, takes piano lessons, golfs and is still active in his line of work.
L was another of those I was expressly forbidden from talking to about my sexuality. I never did, directly. But at some point it became obvious to him that I was, and he embraced that about me. He attended my third, and final, wedding to Scott in 2009, sitting next to my father.
Prayer Intention
For this week’s quote, I paraphrase one I saw somewhere not long ago, but can no longer find:
“One can do much after first praying. One should do nothing before first praying.”
We carry on with our week’s them of “Caring”.
Care is helping others, being mindful of those in need.
On The Road II 