Last night the wind was blowing and the night damp and I awoke, shivering.

The weather here has been quite chilly at night – I had to get out of bed and put on long pants and a sweater (and close the window).

I won’t have that luxury this weekend on the Channel Islands, and it was tough not to consider as I relaxed in bed, still a little chilly under three blankets.

Side note: I can’t tell you what a blessing it is to wake up on your own terms, to not view the alarm clock or a disturbance as the end of the world.

For example, I woke up at 4 a.m. this morning and had trouble falling back asleep. It was nice – resting in the dark and letting the mind go – just happy to be warm and comfortable.

A year ago, I would have been flustered – ticked that I couldn’t sleep and fearful that I’d be tired at work the next day (I think the most frustrating thing was when I’d wake up at 5 a.m. completely rested, then fall back asleep for an hour and wake up exhausted, forced to drag myself to work in a daze).

What an awful, ridiculous way to live.

Anyway, I’d better not leave packing to the last minute like I always tend to do.

There’s no front desk if I forget something.