Inner Dialogue

I've been laying here for a while, unable to shut off and go to sleep. This day has been non-stop physical and mental activity from about 6:20am until just a little while ago. From repotting trees into 15 gallon containers; to cleaning the house; to taking care of my garden; to folding laundry; to filling up planter boxes; to engaging in an annoying, if not invigorating, intellectual battle with someone who is frustratingly ill-equipped to participate; to the selection and editing of a few dozen pictures for a mother's day project; to attending an award presentation for one child, a basketball game for another child, and an open house/spaghetti dinner for three more children while towing along the entire herd to most all of that; to visiting with my future brother-in-law; to getting to know, indirectly, his new girlfriend; to arranging the pictures in a pleasing way in the frames I selected earlier in the day; to squeezing in a few minutes with my sweetheart... the whole day was spent having to be totally on my game, totally engaged, totally immersed in the multiple activities going on around me. It was a good day, one in which I decided which battles to take on at work, where I got to spend time with people I care about, and where I felt like I was able to beautiful our surroundings, if just a little bit. But now, finally, it is quiet for the first time in 19 hours, and it's taking a little while for my spirit to settle down and find peace.