*It’s so hard to celebrate
Knowing all the things I know
Seeing all the things I’ve seen
The heartache of being forced to grow

Gone is the laughter
Along with all the pains
Smoothed out all the ups and downs
Only my shell remains

But I’ll pick up the cup again
And force myself to form a smile
Use up a little bit more of the magic
In celebration for a while

Still held in back of mind
A sliver of suspicion to spoil
To temper all the champagne bubbles
Dark whispers ply their toil

Submitted to What’s Going On – balance and for the prompt of ‘celebration’ at completing my first course at AllPoetry.com. Maybe these words seem a little dark but for me they represent a life of fewer ups and downs and a smoother balance in my thoughts and actions.
*First three lines appropriated from Lou Barlow’s ‘It’s So Hard To Fall In Love’.

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Today I’m feeling:

Positive and alive. Maybe it’s the sunny start to the day after yesterday’s gloom but I feel switched on this morning.

I have a pain in the middle of my upper back from spending too much time lying down and/or sleeping, though. I’d like to stretch or exercise it out if possible.

Health:

Physical: 7
Mental: 8

Today I’m grateful for:

Making a new friend today as the baby calf came to visit and wasn’t too scared to run away. Once I was able to let her sniff me, she got curious and started licking and biting my hand, followed by my legs, arms and belly. Her tongue was as rough as a cat brush and I was left raw from her attention. I showered all the slobber off after savouring the cute animal’s affection.

The best thing about today was:

Getting a fair bit of poetry reading and blog updating done, along with a good 30-minute bash on guitar. The day disappeared pretty quickly and happily.

What was out of your control today and how did you handle it?

I saw a message asking us to go to school to help clean up but I’m going to ignore it for now and if asked, will say that I missed it and be apologetic.

Besides not really wanting to be at school to clean up I don’t really have any clothes, shoes or boots that I could wear either. I just donated all my old clothes yesterday and when I’m at school, I dress myself up in nice clothes, at home just wearing shorts and little else.

Another teacher just said that they will just go and do more lesson planning and I will actually be doing the same. I just don’t want to have to drive a 32km round trip for something that I can do at home (or more specifically at Utopia).

Something I learned today?

The U.S. government has passed a US$1.6 billion bill that aims to spread anti-China propaganda internationally, earmarking $325 million a year until the year 2027 to quote-unquote “counter the malign influence” of China around the world.

Malign influence!

Review your acts, Good and bad.

I took Amy’s freshly made mini cinnamon scrolls to Utopia and also dropped some in for Baipad, too.