Quote of My Day

So, Mom, I got to talk to a bridge engineer today....
-Naomi

Last week Naomi was part of Wilderness Camp through the local Nature Center. The campgrounds are inside of Wilderness Park and fashion a nature-curriculum that lands this gaggle of forty-some-odd kids outside all day hiking, catching bugs, crossing creeks, building forts, etc.

Excuse me as I state the glaringly obvious, but, Naomi had a fabulous (almost magical) time. I'd pick her up each afternoon and her hair smelled hot and dusty. Her mouth fixed in its toothy grin for hours afterwards.

Naomi was part of the team of campers on the Wilderness Park Bridge when it buckled on Wednesday. Nobody was hurt. Shaken. But not hurt. One girl twisted her ankle but after an ice-pack she was just fine.

The camp organizers called the parents immediately to let us know what happened, and also report that everyone was well and good.

I picked up Naomi that afternoon and sort of nudged around to get her take on the days events. I was trying to see if she needed to talk it out. When prompted Naomi readily gave up the goods on what happened. Though I had to chuckle because the days events were less focused on the bridge itself and more centered on the engineering team who came out after-the-fact to inspect the footings.

Gassed-Up

I had a friend once confide in me she can’t stand to fill up the gas tank of her car. We were having a beer and I can’t recall how the subject came up, but will forever remember this friend giggling her way through the tale of how excruciating the sight of that LOW FUEL light was on her dashboard.

There was so much involved at the gas station, she said. The way she had to swipe her credit card, respond to those stupid questions on the display screen, and then wait and wait and wait through the slow tick of the pump. The way she told the story with a series of exhausted sighs you’d think gassing up her car could eat up the whole day if she let it.

I wondered if she drove a gas guzzler? Something with a huge tank that took forever to fill? Nope, she sported a Nissan something-or-another that was light on its feet. The trouble wasn’t the time, really, it was the vision of all those cars whizzing past the intersection while she was standing still. Her mental to-do list multiplied inside her brain with every moment she stood still.

Problem solved, though. She never filled up her tank anymore. The amount of fuel she purchased was determined by how long she could stand to just stand there.

With that abrasive sense of teasing I fall into with some of my closest friends I told her this whole gas pump obsession was really, really crazy.

I thought of her bar-stool story the other day as I was out running errands. I stopped to fill up the tank of my car and looked at the crowded gas station islands. How there wasn’t a single person just standing still. Eight gas pumps. Eight people with cell phones attached to their heads. Mine included.

I considered the time obsessed undercurrent to our lives. The whole idea being that we’ll double-up or cut the corners of the unimportant tasks with the intent of more fully focusing on that which is important. But my mind gets hooked on the rush of crossing lots of items off some master to-do list. So much so that the slower, more intentional, actions that were once the prize of the whole set up become an annoyance.

Don't get me wrong: I'm still a list maker and I still get a zing from crossing things off the list. But I'm working on that other part. That part where I give something or someone my undivided attention. There are occasions and people that deserve nothing less.
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Dinner Line Up: Feta Cheese-Veggie Burgers, Spinach & Strawberry Salad, Sweet Potato Fries with Sea-Salt
Currently Watching: Building Big (PBS)
Recent Events: McK took me to see the movie Inception and I've had creepy, cool dreams ever since.
Weekend Soundtrack: Man of the Hour (Nora Jones)

Day Made

Naomi: Mom, I thought up a nickname for you today.

Me: Really?

Naomi: Mmm-hmmmm, wanna know what it is?

Me: Is it nice?

Naomi: It's honest.

Me: Ew.

Naomi: Wanna know what it is?

Me: OK...sure.

Naomi: I made your name be Super-Cool.

Hanging Around On Any Regular Sunday

N posed this family photo yesterday. Chimpanzee cards and all. It made me laugh out loud.

Misplacement

I’ve misplaced my wedding ring. My thumb keeps rubbing against that fleshy part of my ring finger. I’ve searched jeans pockets and gym bags. No go.

I’d like very much to say that misplacing things is unlike me. Unfortunately it’s entirely like me. So much so that, years ago, I took no pleasure at all in the whole wedding-ring-shopping experience.

The thought of spending so much money on something so small, so easily lost made me so worried I was queasy. Some of my friends discussed various remedies: size the ring small enough that you can’t take it off, take out an insurance rider on the ring, dedicate a spot for every time you take it off to shower or wash dishes. Good advice, all in all, but I work outside sometimes and with enough machinery that I have to take off my jewelry. Also my fingers swell every time I work out so the on-and-off routine with this ring was going to be both frequent and sporadic.

I ended up buying my wedding ring at Shopko. In their clearance bin for $10. I bought four copies of the same ring. (I love Shopko, by the way) So when I say I’ve misplaced my wedding ring, I understate the situation a smidge: I’ve misplaced the last of the back-up copies of my wedding ring.

I'm not a huge shopper so it's seldom I would recall a purchase of any sort. This one though I remember. There was a freakishly long line at the check-out lane so I had a moment to contemplate whether or not it was really necessary to purchase wedding rings in bulk. I wondered if marriage might change me. Make me more responsible, less likely to lose small objects like wallets and keys and jewelry. I tried to envision this transformed, better organized version of myself. Closed my eyes to see it clearly. I was finally brought out of it by the irritated tone of the check-out clerk.

“Can I help you?” the words mumbled from her tongue.

I blushed and stepped forward. Tasked with conjuring a vision of the hypothetical Melissa-who-doesn’t-lose-things my very, very active imagination had drawn a complete blank.

Yep, I thought as I unloaded my basket onto the Shopko counter. I’m going to need these.

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Currently Watching: The Good Wife
Currently Reading: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Recently Enjoyed: Engineering an Empire (Sadly its one and only season on The History Channel)
Excited to Attend: Janet's 40th Surprise Birthday Party in Denver. She's throwing it herself.