So this is what insomnia looks like ...

Photo by Sue Sheen

It's a little past 5:00 in the morning. While there have been times I've blogged at this hour before going to bed, this is the first time I've done it after getting up in the morning. I've never been a morning person. Late nights suit me best. But there's something about being in your 50s, at least for a woman, that knocks everything out of kilter.

I laid awake in bed for nearly an hour before finally accepting the fact that sleep was not happening for me. So I got up and came downstairs, made coffee and an English muffin, and am now sharing my story with you.

I guess 5:00 isn't so bad, provided you don't go to bed after midnight. I predict I'll be quite tired by the time my Writers at Work group meets tonight. Won't that be fun. Then again, perhaps I'll be productive enough this morning to afford the luxury of a nice long afternoon nap. Time will tell.

So, how was your weekend? Did you do anything out of the ordinary? Or did you bask in the ordinary, grateful for the life you have?

It was my week to teach the adult Sunday School class. I struggled a bit with what to teach, since I completed my months' long course on Christianity and the Environment. Then I saw The Lorax, as I blogged about last Monday, and I no longer wondered what the topic would be. I just wondered how to work it into a SS lesson.

It was this line of Dr. Seuss' that became the theme for the lesson: UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not.

Did you know there are 104 Scriptures that include the word 'unless?' I read through all of them and was struck by how important the word 'unless' actually is. For the class, I narrowed it down to 24 passages. We read them and discussed what would have happened if the 'unless' hadn't been acted on. It was an interesting discussion. Or at least, I thought so.

After we got done looking at what the Bible had to say about 'unless,' we got to the 'meat' of the discussion -- the theology of Seuss. Since I already wrote about this last week, I won't go into it again, except to say, after studying for my Sunday School lesson, the message of the Lorax is stronger than ever for me.

On to other Sabbath Experience stuff:  Yesterday was an absolutely beautiful day here in Pittsburgh. Wow. The temps were in the high 60s and the sun was shining. It's that odd time of year when you see people in heavy sweaters or coats and others in shorts and sandals. The oddest sight for us, was when we were driving home after lunch with the kids and passed 3 bikini-clad teens washing a car. It's March folks!

While I appreciated the beauty of the day, I also have to admit I have a love/hate relationship with Spring ... especially when it seems to be here a month or so early. I love the weather, but hate the change in wardrobe. Give me leggings and boots and turtlenecks and big sweaters. I love the look and the fact that winter clothing offers a bit more grace to less than perfect bodies like mine.

I spent the evening writing, which was a pleasure. Then Bill and I talked about deep things, like aging and death and the possibility of having to sell our house and move someday. I cried at all of it. And then we went to bed. Is it any wonder I woke up halfway through the night and couldn't get back to sleep?

That was my Sabbath. I would love to hear about yours. Did you do you anything special? Did the loss of an hour mess with your internal clock?

Sharing my Sabbath experience,

Hana