{"id":7178,"date":"2021-02-01T18:13:15","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T18:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/?p=7178"},"modified":"2021-02-18T19:31:43","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T19:31:43","slug":"new-is-not-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/?p=7178","title":{"rendered":"NEW IS NOT OVER"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Image: KAth Boake W<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Songbirds are visiting! Chickadees, towhees mostly. I must work to shoo the neighbourhood\u2019s felines away. I disinfect the feeders once a week to keep rainforest mould at bay.<\/p>\n

I’ve been reflecting on how different life has become in this new year. While the pandemic continues its inexorable spread, causing dread, fatigue and grief, other aspects have improved and I am far less isolated. I used to love a somber individual; judgemental, overbearing, withholding and embarrassed by my exuberance. \u201cOkay, settle down.\u201d No wonder it didn\u2019t work out and, never again. \u201cExuberance is beauty.\u201d -William Blake. I\u2019m determined to spend my precious time with those who accept my flaws and idiosyncrasies and encourage my enthusiasm, expression.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

JANUARY 1, 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

She\u2019d feared beginnings were over,<\/p>\n

that she was caught in a maelstrom,<\/p>\n

huffing beneath a perpetual<\/p>\n

same-old, same-old,<\/p>\n

that the annus horribilis<\/p>\n

truly was eternal,<\/p>\n

lockdown a revolving door reality show,<\/p>\n

Morpheus at the helm<\/p>\n

of each interminable day.<\/p>\n

Hope gone. Stolen,<\/p>\n

along with human desire,<\/p>\n

physical contact. Libido<\/p>\n

in stasis. Half-life.<\/p>\n

Half-over.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Yet here she is<\/p>\n

at the dawn of a new year,<\/p>\n

dancing, as if at a party,<\/p>\n

new beau-spurred,<\/p>\n

new beau a gift<\/p>\n

sharing turquoise and flowers,<\/p>\n

new beau bedded,<\/p>\n

awakened from her slumber,<\/p>\n

transformed by a kiss.<\/p>\n

In the morning light<\/p>\n

dark chocolate in coffee<\/p>\n

makes for a mocha.<\/p>\n

New twist for the new year.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Things happen,<\/p>\n

including the unexpected,<\/p>\n

even within this odd limbo.<\/p>\n

Life forces cannot be halted,<\/p>\n

neither by virus nor firestorm.<\/p>\n

And to her surprise<\/p>\n

she finds that she is free.<\/p>\n

Free to muse, free to expand,<\/p>\n

free to chance it all,<\/p>\n

free to say anything,<\/p>\n

anything at all.<\/p>\n

He wants to hear it all.<\/p>\n

Hallelujah<\/em>!<\/p>\n

New is not over.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Songbirds are visiting! Chickadees, towhees mostly. I must work to shoo the neighbourhood\u2019s felines away. I disinfect the feeders once a week to keep rainforest mould at bay. I’ve been reflecting on how different life has become in this new year. While the pandemic continues its inexorable spread, causing dread, fatigue and grief, other aspects […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4,7,12],"tags":[149,236],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7178"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7178"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7178\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7257,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7178\/revisions\/7257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/heatherhaley.com\/hh2\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}