Scribblous

This weekend we went camping. I enjoyed the time with my parents and siblings and especially with my little family. It’s beautiful up in the mountains and somehow… inspiring. But more on that at another time.

As soon as we were back to town, I directed my husband to the nearest Walmart to pick up a copy of Breaking Dawn (I was purchasing copies for my mother and my brother, but I got to read it first… ). We wandered around for a while before locating the book area. Twilight… New Moon… Eclipse… no Breaking Dawn. Okay… surely they must have it on a pallet somewhere… no. In fact, the man I asked didn’t even know what Breaking Dawn WAS and said their “vendor” brought in books whenever they wanted… I was appalled. Not because a guy didn’t know what the book was (the series isn’t my favorite), but because it IS the newest, biggest book of the summer in some ways… 1.3 million copies in one day… and this is WALMART…

I’m so used to them carrying everything I would ever want — and for the cheapest prices — that I go there even when my mind can’t handle the crowds and the disorganization… much to my husband’s despair…

We left Walmart and headed for the nearest Target… not much better in some ways, but here’s the result: low level of people, organized shelves, and a quick checkout. I’m sold.

My opinion on the book itself? Hmph. She could’ve done better. I don’t like to insult someone else’s writing (especially a published author)… but Twilight was better… New Moon and Eclipse were even better. I felt let down at the end of the book, despite some interesting twists and turns and ideas. I will say SOME of it was incredibly well written, so bravo on that! (I like to end on a happy note…)

I’m feeling strange(r) this evening, so I thought I’d write an ode to my sixth toe. I considered showing a daring picture, but my husband advised that no one wants to see this toe. Hmph. But before I ode-i-fy, let me explain why I have a 6th toe. I was setting off fireworks… the kind you’re supposed to hold in your hand (sparklers) and one dropped on my toe. It has now exploded into a blister and has become my 6th toe on that foot. So I guess I should call it my 11th toe, really, but I’m not going to change the title of my ode now.

To alleviate any concern any readers might feel with the definition of an ode, let me assure you that I will not be singing this. I am using this definition: “a poem on a serious subject, usually written in an elevated formal style; often written to commemorate public events” because the arrival of the 6th toe was a public event.

Ahem… I begin…

My toe, my toe, what has happened to my toe?
It was such a good little toe, there on the end
but something happened and I’m feeling low.
Instead of 1, I now have 2.
My toe, are now my toes!

And that’s all I’ve got, folks. Tomorrow I may greatly regret posting this poem….

Today, I spent 5 minutes secretly watching my son play by himself. I know not everyone can spend 5 minutes in this way, but to me it was a joy. I snuck past him and laid down where he wouldn’t notice me. Then I watched him putter around. He has such joy as he plays. As he knocked down the fan he’s not supposed to touch and then climbed on top of it, I was struck by a notion: Time moves too fast. And we let it.

What is more important than now? With little children, they grow so fast that we can’t keep up. In our own lives and things, in 10 years, will we want to remember that we were always looking somewhere else, or will we want to know we were happy in the moment? It reminds me of something an old Jedi master once said, “Always to the future he looks, never on where he is, what he is doing.”

I will quickly admit it is important to pay attention to your future — otherwise you will have no future. But if we don’t stop to enjoy the roses, to love that your son throws your clothes around the room and wants to touch your burnt toe, to watch the sunset, then what is the purpose of the future?

Someday, I realized this morning, my son will no longer play with things he should not. He will no longer wander the house eating everything on the floor. And, someday, he will grow up and leave my home. Today, though, I have him here. Today I have for me, for him, and for my family.

So, today, I am making myself a promise. Yesterday I enjoyed a post on finding happiness and I resolved to attend to my passions. Today I am resolved to try to do it today. I will do the things that make me happy and do them now, so that in 10 years I don’t regret the waste of 10 years.

Which means I need to go get started on my story!