soon to be asleep in seattle

        I am in Seattle and this city is so cool.  Maybe even stupid.  I didn't get a ton of sleep last night, so first thing I did when I got into my hotel room was take a nap.  It was delightful.  Oh--and speaking about sleep, I heard a something today that is a little disturbing.  After conducting a 22 year study, researchers have concluded that people who get less than 7-8 hours of sleep a night die earlier--at an average of 26%.  Conversely, people who get more than 8 hours of sleep a night die earlier, too, at an average of 24%.  So, you're kind of screwed either way, it seems!  I am not really in danger of the former statistic, but I could be of the latter.  Although, I have also heard that everybody has a different sleep cycle and an individual could need anywhere from 6-9 hours of sleep a night.  Drew, my dear sleep-expert husband, do you have any knowledge you can share to shed some light on this matter?

      After the nap, John and I went to the gym.  Now, here's the thing about going to the gym: I really don't go to be social.  I have enough friends; I do not put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and get on the elliptical machine so I can make more friends.  So anyway, I was minding my own business, about to get on a yoga mat to do some ab work, when this guy just strikes up a conversation about my shirt with me.  I was wearing a white t-shirt that says little green tee on it, and he was like, That's a green t-shirt?! I was like, no, it just means that it is made out of earth-friendly materials...Then he saw fit to launch into a conversation that I was really not into.  He got around to asking me what I was doing that night, so I told him I was hanging out with my friend, John.  He asked me to have drinks with him--offered that John could come, too...I felt kind of sorry for him.  I was vague and walked away, but unfortunately ran into him again, and he repeated his offer.  This time I just said no thank you, and left it at that.  The whole thing was annoying.  

     Afterward, John and I walked around the city a little.  We saw the harbor right at dusk, when all the colors of the sky are blending into the colors of the water; the line between the two softening and spreading, bending and expanding.  It was truly beautiful.  Expanses of water have always lifted my spirits and made me dream a little more, for some reason.  Maybe its the seeming endlessness of it, the way it shares space with the sky and dwells side-by-side.  When I was going to UArts, passing the Delaware River on 95 would always make me inexplicably happy.  Seeing that water there reminded me about grace and goodness and hope.  I am not sure why or how, but I am grateful.  

    John and I had dinner and talked deeply.  We always do, though we laugh a good amount and pepper in a lot of sarcasm, too.  He loves God--was journaling prayers since he was little--and talks to Him often now.  We have that in common.  We are very honest with each other and he seems to get me, so to speak.  Even though we can be very different, we have a lot of respect for each other and share a lot of values as well.  

   I can already feel I am going to sleep well tonight.  Also, this time next week, Drew and I will be together in San Diego!  That is where we went on our honeymoon three years ago, and I so anticipate being there with him again...God is so good to me.