Sleep hygiene

Recently I've been getting up consistently at 7:30. It started a week ago Monday, because I had to get out of bed early enough to get Brenna headed towards climbing camp. I had to set the alarm. I'm not a morning person, but I liked the routine. I started getting tired sooner in the evening (by midnight). Keeping the same wakeup time five days in a row, I slept better than usual. When the weekend came, I decided to stick with it.

Michael, the facilitator of group therapy, said one of the most important things we can do to manage anxiety and depression is practice good sleep hygiene. The way to do it is always, always wake up at the same time no matter when we go to bed. I've struggled to establish that habit, but Brenna's necessity finally motivated me.

It seems my thoughts are more coherent lately. Not that I've been incoherent, just didn't have as much mental energy to stick with an idea. My writing has been more concentrated. I've been more willing to address existential questions like the one raised in yesterday's post. I want to read more, and not just for diversion, but to inform and challenge myself.

Summer plans have shifted somewhat because Marian got a job for the month of August, and won't be here much (Congrats!). Brenna has to go back to Lindsay for a few days next week, so I'll have some unexpected time alone. At the prospect of four days to myself, I would usually think relaxation and recuperation, but I am already calm and energized. Instead I want to focus on an endeavour. Exactly what, I'll decide by Tuesday.

This seems to enhance an intangible shift in energy I've felt since early June, a positive one. I would like to keep the alarm set at 7:30 for the rest of this busy summer, and beyond.

Westward bound

I had intended to take Brenna camping this weekend in the east end of Algonquin Provincial Park so we could explore the Barron Canyon. I should have reserved a campsite weeks ago, but didn't know for certain when I would be able to get away. This week I find Achray Campground is pretty much booked until Labour Day. So we've had to change plans. It's just as well. We would have had to make the trip in two stages: three-and-a-half hours to the cottage tomorrow and another four hours to the Ottawa Valley on Friday. With the price of gas, we're better looking closer to home.

Today at work Alicia suggested Falls Reserve Conservation Area, a mere 90 minutes' drive from Guelph on a bow in the Maitland River. It lies near Goderich, a few minutes from the Lake Huron shoreline, a part of Ontario I've barely explored myself. The beaches and sunsets are famous (unfortunately that means crowded). I looked into Pinery Provincial Park, but it's booked solid, too, so Falls Reserve turns out to be the better choice.

It will be a much different adventure than the one I made with Marian two years ago: a long portage to a virtually deserted lake with a bear, two wolves, and numerous mosquitoes. The Goderich area is civilized and pretty, a trap for weekend tourists from London. We'll go hiking, shopping and swimming. It will be an unique experience anyway, something neither of us have done before, and that's what I had in mind.

We plan to leave midday tomorrow and return to Guelph on Sunday morning.

Tuesday while we were out walking, Brenna noticed this grasshopper. Did you know day-lilies are good to eat? The grasshopper knew. Looks like it's eating a palace.