Life in the Fast Lane

Do you ever feel like your life is a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, twists and turns, with squeals of laughter and shortness of breath? If so, then you know how I feel every day. I've got a sign that reads "I live the way I type...fast with lots of mistakes", and that could've been written just for me.
It seems like I've been somewhere every month this year, so no sooner than I return home, it's time to pack and fly out again. I worked til the wee hours for days on end preparing for CHA, and came home thinking I'd have 2 weeks to prepare for Stampaway. Instead I've had this allergy attack and sinus infection that's knocked me out of commission, so now I'm back up and running, racing against the clock. My roller coaster has me spinning and twisting, laughing and gasping, but enjoying every single minute of the ride.
This weekend amidst the inking & stamping, packing & sorting, I took a little time for myself. Friday night is always date night and we went to the movies to see Wall-E. That's right, two middle-aged people joined the families and laughed our way through a truly delightful two hours. I loved the movie and identified with Wall-E and his collection of beloved possessions.
I have lots of treasures, including 3 Koosh balls sitting on a shelf in my studio. But today I'm pulling 2 off the shelf so I can actually play with them. One is going in the car to toss from hand to hand while I'm stuck in traffic or in my many slow moving drive-thru lanes. And the other is going in my carry-on bag to help pass those long waits in airport terminals. Just think how envious everyone will be of my entertaining little toy!
For years I collected music boxes and then gave away all but 2 tiny ones that I bought on my first trip to England 25 years ago. All the mechanics are housed inside tiny little matchboxes except the crank handle. So I'm pulling those out of the drawer and placing one on the nightstand in the front guestroom and the other in my purse. When I just need to take a few minutes and catch my breath, I'll crank away, playing London Bridge is Falling Down as fast or as slow as I please, to ground me and remind me that I'm still a kid who's easily entertained by the simple things in life.
On Saturday night after watching a late movie on TV we went out onto the second floor deck of our house and spent some time on the glider, just enjoying the coolness of the night. (Does 2am on Sunday morning still count as Saturday night if you haven't gone to bed?) Duffy, our little Scottie, sat between us, and it's one of those moments I'd love to put in a time capsule. His tumors are back, just as the vets predicted. They promised us 2-3 months after his chemo in early June and it looks like August is going to be a heartbreaking month for us.


I hope you'll think about the things in life that you treasure and take the time to enjoy them. Watch the neighborhood kids laughing and playing; pull out the good china & use it for a week or two; sit outside late at night and listen to the frogs while gazing at the stars; try to remember your first bike with training wheels and how exhilirating it was to feel like you could conquer the world. And picture me, playing with my music box, my Koosh ball, and my little dog.