Knowing that I haven’t missed a day of blogging in 837 days, it’s not lost on me, sitting within some hurt feelings, that I’m told to “just forget about it.” For better or worse, remembering is kind of my thing. But even as I type this, it does make me laugh, well, at least smile anyway.

And then I start to think about all the numbers. I know we were told that you are supposed to keep forgiving. Not just seven times, but seven times seventy. And for a minute my brain thinks “If I was hurt yesterday, and I still feel hurt today, then does that count for two?” Math is hard, but it does add up quickly. And I smile a little more.

The thing about feelings is they don’t show like a broken leg, or a sprained wrist. Most people don’t even know they hurt you. And the phrase I heard for the majority of my childhood from my older siblings repeats in my head, “Well, if you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you.” Now I actually laugh.

I guess they all have to be healed from within. And we all have our own methods. Of working through. Of letting go. I begin by counting the words. Maybe the strokes. Perhaps the laps in the pool. And soon the numbers fade and I’m just in it. In the doing. The living. And I actually have to look up the numbers that are recorded in the blogging application to see how many days it has been. Because the number doesn’t really matter. I do it because I want to. I started for different reasons and now it has evolved into my living. I00 likes or 10, 800 days or one, it doesn’t really matter, this is how I live. I guess it’s the same with feelings. I’m not going to change because sometimes I get hurt. I am going to feel everything. It’s just the way I live. And that’s the real reward.

I’ll leave you with one last number. It’s going to be 109 degrees here today. Time for some countless laps in the pool. I feel better already.

Awakenings.