100 Days of Wonder – #53
I have been drinking too much coffee. And I haven’t been drinking it in that lovely ‘mindful first cup of the day slowly inviting in the day’ way. It’s been more like ‘do task, drink coffee, do task, drink coffee, do task, drink coffee and repeat…’ Not great because it means I drink way more coffee than I normally would and I don’t even pause to enjoy it. So it seems fitting to pause and think about coffee moments. I have had so many lovely conversations, giggles, good cries, bitching sessions and putting the world to rights chats over coffee. So many reflective moments cradling a mug of hot black liquid, so many ideas – good, bad and ridiculous. I have lots of coffee moments and my favourite ones are the first coffee of the day moments, whether I have it sitting in bed slowly coming round, sitting outside watching the world wake up around me or whether I am sipping it from a reusable mug on the go. My first coffee of the day at Disney is extra special because I’m at Disney but it serves two purposes – it allows me to come round and wake up gently before jumping into the day and it provides a moment of pause to enjoy the promise a new day of adventures holds. We usually get a resort mug which means we can refill at the drinks station in the hotel throughout our stay but there are also coffee machines in the rooms. Depending on our mood, we can take a few steps from the bed and press a button or we can stroll from wherever our room is to the drinks station. Here’s a picture of the 50th anniversary blend dispensers at Disney World in January 2023. We were in the Garden Wing of the Contemporary Resort in 2023 and there was something lovely about the walk across to the main tower to fill our mugs. Somehow that first coffee is as much about the making or going and getting it and holding the mug and thinking about the day to come as it is about actually drinking the coffee. So I can’t promise I will drink less coffee but looking for this picture and thinking about coffee moments made me realise that I do want to at least drink it more mindfully and enjoy my coffee moments again.
100 Days of Wonder – #52
Here’s the Bear of Little Brain. This was taken at Epcot in January 2023 as he was doing his morning exercises. We stood and watched him for ages and got the giggles watching him trying to reach his toes. My anxiety has been sky high today and I have felt very ‘little brained’. I probably could have done with channeling Winnie a little more. Or just the feeling of standing and watching him. In fact I don’t think any of us really take enough time to just stand and stare or watch or just be. It’s all about productivity and that just ends up being counter productive because my work world should be about creativity and thinking and empowerment and inspiring others and none of that works well if my tank is empty. Winnie started his day with some exercise and some waving at crowds and some being silly and just the memory of that starts resetting my system and bringing my heart rate and anxiety levels down. I finished my day today with a Boxercise class at the gym. It felt good – sometimes you just need to punch the crap out of something to release the excess adrenaline – and there were some giggles too over my lack of co-ordination. The fact that I nearly passed out at the end and had to sit on a chair off to one said that felt rather like the naughty chair, is also a reminder to look after myself better during the day. Maybe pause, have lunch, drink water, drink less coffee… I can’t imagine Winnie not having a little smackerel of something at regular intervals!
100 Days of Wonder – #51
I have written a bit about fun and being fun and not taking things too seriously and how Disney is a reminder of those things. However, as this photo shows, some things are very serious! Neither of us accept losing on the Buzz Lightyear ride. It is all smiles and giggles and niceties until we get on that ride – and then it is war. The competition is intense – I mean just look at the concentration… I am only half joking, we do get competitive, I mostly lose and when the game or sometimes run of games is over, we move on – but in the moment – competitive doesn’t quite capture it. And it bemuses me because I am not generally competitive other than with myself and I don’t get like that on other rides that have game elements. Or certainly not to the same extent. In fact until I went on this ride the first time just because it had a short queue and was something to do, I wasn’t fussed about it, thought I’d be pretty indifferent. Nope, this ride unleashes my inner competitor, one I didn’t know I had. It’s not that I sulk or am upset when I lose – nope, I’ll just make us go round and round again until I win and if the queues are too long for that – we’ll be coming back later or the next day. Maybe it’s just as well that I get my fix of this at regular intervals and leave the competition out on a ride with fake laser shooters and made up aliens. I am not sure it would be healthy in real life.
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