Perception of Time and Spaces.

It being the last day of September, I reminded myself today that tomorrow I must change my wall calendar. I looked at this month’s picture and it seemed only a few days since I looked at it for the first time at the beginning of the month. September seems to have flown by at an alarming pace.

On the other hand, I had to go over to the city today to pick up some paperwork, and the twelve mile stretch on the high speed highway was uncomfortable – heavy rain, mist, and spray everywhere. It seemed like an awfully long time since I’d driven in conditions like that, when it was actually only about a year ago.

It’s odd, isn’t it, how much our perception of time varies according to circumstances.

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And talking of perceptions, the past couple of days have been uncomfortable in another respect. I’ve always seen my bedroom in a wholesome way – a safe, restful space shut away from a sometimes harsh, demanding world. But I had a bad night on Saturday. I woke up unaccountably several times with a sense of unease; I felt cold every time I did; in one instance I heard what sounded like a rat gnawing at wood followed by a bump as something dropped to the ground. I assumed it was something outside, but couldn’t be certain.

All day yesterday my perception of this safe, restful space had switched its polarity and I wasn’t comfortable going into it last night. Go to bed I did, of course, but when I turned the light off sleep proved illusive, which is most unusual for me. Normally I fall asleep within a minute or two of resting my head on the pillow. After what seemed like an hour or more I considered getting up and resigning myself to having a night without sleep. I simply wasn’t tired enough to sleep even though it was the early hours of the morning. But then a switch was thrown somehow because the next thing I knew I was being woken by the alarm in order to get up earlier than usual to make my trip to the city. I wonder how tonight will be.

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And today I read the news report on Hurricane Helene which has ravaged parts of the south-eastern US. I read of the devastation and the horrifyingly high number of fatalities. The report said that the worst affected states were Tennessee and the Carolinas, and that’s where an old and much valued correspondent – Andrea Kiss, aka ‘Peanut’ – lived during the early years of this blog. And so I became worried. I grew very fond of Andrea and thought I might have her email address stashed away somewhere. I looked, but without success. So if ever you should stumble across this post Andrea, I do hope so very earnestly that you and the family came through it unscathed.