Dream Big

I have a few big dreams. Just a few... One is becoming the owner of a red convertible. Oh yes! One day it shall be mine. I had a convertible MGB when I was a senior in High School. It was a fun car. A piece of junk, more often broke down than not. But I loved her.
I got to drive a little red convertible recently. It was an item to be auctioned for a fund raiser. It needed to be moved from one garage to another about 1/2 mile away. It took me 45 minutes to get it there. I kept missing the left turn, had to go several blocks in order to turn around safely. Then somehow I kept missing the driveway. As I drove. I honked and waved at almost everyone. This was a magical car. I felt 20 and thin!
I almost cried when I finally had to reach my destination.
I have wanted a red convertible for many years, and this experience made me realize that some day I will own one. Oh Yes! One day it shall be mine!
So I have started a fund. My little red convertible fund. A little here, a little there..barring any further appliance breakdowns or major home repairs this dream will become a reality.
I also have begun the CPS (car protective services). I notice occasionally someone driving a convertible on the streets of Lincoln. Beautiful day...top up!!! Are you crazy???
I'm going to tell them they are in violation of the CPS code for convertible enjoyment. What's the matter? Too windy? Messing up your hair? Can't hear the radio? Then, my friend, you should not be the owner of said convertible. " Step out of the car. I need to take possession." "This vehicle needs to be driven by someone who appreciates the fact that it is a convertible. Beautiful day = Top down."
Even on a not so perfect day...top down! Unless it's raining or below 30 degrees...top down!

I have a dream...

Summer Noise

The cicadas are singing their summer song.

Not a 10, no beat and I can't dance to it.

They sing of heat, long days, longer evenings and air so thick it drips down the outside of my glass.

The neighborhood owl is voicing his opinion as well.

I feel more harmony with this group than the rain slapping against my windows in fall or the silent snow that falls in winter.

Summer noises remind me of happy times.

Bare feet on hot streets,

heading home as the street lights came on.

Cool pools,small bikinis, Beach Boys singing about California girls.

California hot days eased into fog cooled evenings.

The east coast, the south and here in the Middle, evenings are hot days without the sun.

Summer 24/7

I imagine Blanche Duboise fanning herself and dabbing the perspiration from her neck with her delicate handkerchief.

I hear Scout and Jeb running home at dusk.

Great stories of hot, humid summer nights.

Hot,hot,hot

Just saw a story on our local nightly news about hot cows. Not hot like...beautiful bovine babes, but hot because it's 100 freaking degrees outside. It's been sizzling for days. People are melting,we are warned daily of the dangers of being outdoors too long. So yeah, I guess cows are hot too. Did you know that a cow's temperature is normally around 100 degrees? Me neither! Evidently because of our current heat wave, the cows have a temp of 103. Good to know. I guess I should be more compassionate, but it's too hot! Heat, especially prolonged heat, makes people crabby. Drivers cut you off, checkout ladies are sullen and when they wish you a good day, you know they really don't mean it. I'm crabby, I don't care if the cows are hot, we're all hot. Next thing you know, we'll be seeing cows swimming at the local pool, having a blizzard at the Dairy Queen, demanding air conditioned barns.

Actually cows at the Dairy Queen would be funny...I would laugh, but I'm too hot.

Time well spent

How did it get to be August 6th? How did it get to be 2010? What happened to 2000-2009?

The speeding up of time is in direct proportion to age. The older we get, the faster time goes. No one can convince me that time is consistent, always the same. At 5 years old, 3 minutes in time out feels like an eternity. At 50 years old, a year seems like 3 minutes. My children are 30, 29 and 23 years old. How did that happen? I know by the time many woman are my age they are grandmothers many times over. But I feel unready...for grandchildren...for adult children. 54 years on this earth...unbelievable!
I remember, as a young mother, often alone with small kids, wishing for the weekend, or the day when their father gets home from deployment. Wishing it were bedtime, wishing it was Summer, etc. Always wishing time away. Even then I remember thinking one day I will rue the day I wished my life away. We all know it is fleeting. We all know we are not long for this world. What we don't understand when we are young, is that one day we will look back on a life (hopefully well lived) and wonder where it went and how did it all go so fast.
That, my dear friends is the true sign of age. When we realize that we are mortal and want to hold on to every second forever.

I stood off to the side of the dance floor at my daughter's recent wedding reception. I knew it was all happening so fast. I took a moment to watch and take it all in. I wanted to capture this moment in time, to savor it, to keep it. I realized that we have a finite number of these special times. I knew I needed to treasure each moment, to hold sacred each child. I know I need to cherish every day, every hug, kiss ,visit. I understand better now why my,mother, in the last years of her life would keep me on the phone for hours. I get it now. She wanted to spend time with me, even if we could not be together. She knew the importance of time. We have just a limited amount of it. We must learn to use it wisely.

Time with family, friends is always well spent.
Time is like money, it should not be wasted, but used well. Time well spent, will make us rich indeed.