One of my resolutions is to “turn complaints into pleasures.” This sound obnoxiously Pollyanna-ish, but I’ve been amazed by how often it can be done.
This “morning” was a great example. I was wide awake at 3:00 a.m., and for some reason, saw very clearly how to draft a certain tricky letter that I need to write, so I turned the light on low and scribbled down my idea. (I’ve learned the hard way how fleeting those night thoughts can be.)
I tried to go back to sleep, but at 4:00, I was still awake.
Instead of tossing and fuming, as I used to do, I got up, got dressed, made myself some coffee, and headed to my office.
It was a tremendous pleasure to work in those dark and quiet hours. I was extraordinarily productive, and did a bunch of things I’d been putting off.
In fact, I was once again tackling my current albatross–figuring out how to podcast–when I heard the Little Girl starting to bellow in her crib.
So instead of starting my day feeling frustrated by lying in bed for hours, or feeling groggy if I’d managed to fall asleep for an hour or so, but then had to wake up, I started my day with a feeling of tranquility and accomplishment.
Voila! A complaint turned into a pleasure.
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Recently, I collaborated on a book, Profane Waste, with artist Dana Hoey. 
She went on to do a series of prints based on her photographs from the book, and I just found out that her Dewars Mother (Destroyed) was singled out by Art on Paper magazine as one of the most interesting prints of the year — out of some 900 works. If you go to the Art on Paper link, Dewars Mother (Destroyed) is pictured on the homepage. Dana did all the work on the prints, obviously, but I feel very famous and glamorous because I’m the model she used in the photograph. Yup, that’s me pregnant with the Little Girl. (I did not actually drink the Dewar’s.)
