Last night, Isobel came over and sat down next to me on the couch. I pushed my laptop aside and she scooted toward me with her iPad, getting ready to read.
The overhead light was off and the room was comfortably dim (I'm perpetually in search of Gryffindor common room vibes). It made for a nice contrast to the darkness outside and its full-moon accent lighting. I'd been writing for a while, which I actually hadn't noticed until Isobel mentioned it, and it took a second to break away from my inner world.
Dropping back into the present takes a few blinks after being lost in the throes of focus mode. She is right, though... it's a lot of time to spend on something each day. Her head kind of shook in disbelief while she'd said it. Not in a judgy way, but more like a wide-eyed "idk how you do it" kind of way. I smiled to myself at that, knowing I was far from done for the night. Then I rocked myself forward, like the tired thirty-something that I am, to reach for my tea on the coffee table. I don't *think* I made any audible dad-grunts, but not knowing when you do is kind of the whole thing, right?
It was getting late and I was definitely tired.
I live by the "some is better than none" philosophy and I believe wholeheartedly in pushing myself to do stuff, even if only for a tiny bit. Sometimes, showing up is enough; and still, there are times when showing up is only half of it. Because showing up and working through it is what it takes to keep promises to yourself.
I don't know of any better way to build trust in yourself than that.
So I kept writing with Isobel reading her book next to me. I'm still getting used to that, too, because I'd never had it before. I'm not new to "rolling my sleeves up" and doing hard shit when I need to... but no one'd ever sat with me while I did.
Not until I met Isobel.
Our Daily MAP Year Prompt
155/365
What's the last promise you made to yourself that you kept? How about the next one?
If you know someone who'd appreciate this, pass it along. And if something stuck with you while reading, I'd love to know what it was.
onward.

For more on this daily column and The MAP Year Project, read the backstory here.