Yawns, Sighs, and Sunsets

February 16, 2019 by JoAnna 37 Comments

Our mission for this Saturday’s Stream of Consciousness was:

“… “yawn.” Write about the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the word “yawn,” when you sit down to write your post. Enjoy!”

We think of a yawn as implying boredom, but it’s also a way to reset our breathing or something like that – like a sigh which is somewhat more voluntary than a yawn. Have you ever tried to yawn on purpose? It’s just not the same. I just tried it. And try to suppress a yawn. You can keep your mouth closed, but the yawn is in there. Did they see it? There’s this guy in choir who yawns really loud. He doesn’t really try to suppress it. The choir director says, “No yawning in the choir loft!” (It’s not really a loft.) But it doesn’t matter. We all chuckle.

Now, a sigh is different. A sigh can be voluntary and also a reset. In yoga class we were encouraged to sigh out loud. Or yawn or whatever. Just let it all out.

Yawn rhymes with dawn. Dawn’s early light which I rarely see, because I’m not a morning person. I have nothing against dawn or early mornings, but much prefer sunset when I’m more awake and can take it all in with a sigh instead of a yawn. But yawning and sighing are both okay. Dawn and sunset are both beautiful blessings.

I typed dawn into the search bar for my pictures. Nothing. Then, I typed sunset and got 900 and something items. Really? I probably take more sunset photos than anything else. Let’s see if I can find some of my favorites. Without planning.

(All the photos were taken in North Carolina with the last 2 from Beech Mountain.)

Minimal planning or something like that.  We’ll see below.  I got the “have fun” part right.

For more information on #SoCS, or to jump in the stream, visit our host, Linda G. Hill at

https://lindaghill.com/2019/02/15/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-16-19/

Here are the rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing (typos can be fixed), and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. I will post the prompt here on my blog every Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The,’” or will simply be a single word to get you started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read all of them! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later or go to the previous week by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!