Let me tell you about living in the moment....

   Life is about moments. We are taught to cherish the moments in our lives as they are fleeting and will pass before we know it. Like the moment when you graduate and receive a diploma. Or the moment when your child takes her first step. The moment when your receive your first communion. Or the moment your team wins the championship.

   And then there are the other moments....

   Take the other week. Or leave it, which might be the better option. I was having a LOT of those moments. Feeling ambitious on a busy day, I went to the gym first thing in the morning. However, after my workout and shower, I discovered that I left my phone at home. For a brief moment, I panicked. My list and notes were all on the phone, happily sitting on my desk. I really did not want to backtrack all the way home as the store was just down the street from the gym. Then the panicky moment passed and I laughed and told myself, "Hey, you can remember what you need, don't sweat it." Turns out that I couldn't. We now have multiple cans of green beans. And extra mayo. As well as several unopened jars of olives. We needed milk.

   When I returned home from my shopping trip, I discovered that I had put the laundry in the washing machine, but not actually turned it on. Was this an early senior moment?

   Dinner was also late.

Note to myself, food cooks better if the oven is turned on.

Not one of my better moments.

   Sometimes we bring these wonderful moments on ourselves. Like the time I decided to stop at the bank on the way to violin lesson, the day lesson money was due. Well, I sorta forgot to stop at the bank when I was out running errands earlier, so I didn't really have much choice. NO BIG DEAL. How long could it take to visit an ATM? We left a little early so that we would have plenty of time to stop at the bank near our house. When we arrived at the bank, we discovered our branch was closed. Hmmm, that was odd. Even odder, the ATM was closed. Since when do ATMS close? Okay, okay, no problem, I had time, I would just go to a branch closer to lessons. Mind you, this branch was on the other side of town, but we had to drive to the other side of town for lessons. Our drive took us past the railroad tracks. Where there happened to be a slow freight train. A really loooonnnnngggg freight train. Unusual for that time of day, but again, no problem, I could just use the ATM at the handy bank where I was already sitting in traffic and pay the $3.00 user fee. It would cost a little, but save me time. And it would have saved me time too, except that the ATM kept saying that my pin did not match my User ID. Say what? No way! Time was ticking away and there was still a freight train. I reasoned that if I drove a little out of my way along the tracks to the next town I could stop at a bank there and pick up the needed funds. By then the train should be gone and though we had to drive a longer distance, we would still be on time for the lesson. At that moment, I thought I had it all under control.

   Guess again. That bank in the next town happened to be another branch of our bank and it too was also out of operation, along with the ATM machines. Now the train had long since passed (I think it had reached Iowa by this point), so I struck out across the tracks for any bank that was on the way to our appointed lessons. However, I found I was stuck behind what I can only describe as "reluctant" drivers. Those are drivers who insist on doing at least ten miles beneath the speed limit and stopping at all stop signs for a minimum of five minutes, happily waving all other drivers through the intersection. Unfortunately for me, I remained behind these self appointed traffic managers most of the drive through residential neighborhoods where banks do not have subdivision branches for cash strapped moms desperately trying to make it on time for music lessons.

   The moments crept on until I finally reached a bank that was open AND had an operating ATM. This time my card was accepted with no issues. Go figure. We arrived at violin lesson not a moment too soon.

   There are other moments we cannot help, like the day I agreed to pick my in-laws up from the airport. I had their car and the keys, so I was sure to get there. It was a new car and full of gas, so I had no worries about the drive. I thought about checking to see if the flight was on time, about ten minutes before I had to leave. Guess what, it was expected to be about twenty minutes early, giving me about fifteen minutes to get to the airport. But no biggie. I figured that since the airport is fairly close and my relatives had to go through the time consuming process of customs, I would arrive with moments to spare.

   So I hopped in the car, adjusted the seat and the mirrors and started my drive. However, I did not manage to turn the air on before I started driving. At the moment, it had not seemed important, but as I drove, it got a bit warm in the car. Unfortunately, I did not catch a single stop light so that I could fiddle with the dials. Unable to rectify the situation safely, I cracked open the window and turned onto the tollway feeling the fresh air would do me good. It was then I remembered that I was not driving my car and I did not check for an I-Pass to pay the tolls. Nor did I have any change since earlier I had given in to a momentary urge to tidy my purse and had emptied it all into the change basket. Lucky for me they had an I-Pass and I encountered no traffic. I made it to the airport in fantastic time!
 
    Which turned out to be a good thing, since my in-laws had been wheeled through the airport and breezed through customs. That made me right on time to pick them up. Barely. I had a moment of satisfaction as we headed back home. Before I realized I was in the wrong lane and could not get to the correct ramp for the highway. Not wanting to fight with the taxis, I opted to go the wrong direction and turn around at my first opportunity. In short order, I found a wide enough street only a few blocks away and turned off the main roadway intending to do a U-turn on this side street. Unlucky for me, the turning radius on this brand new car was not as tight as the turning radius I enjoyed on the old vehicles I was used to driving, so I bumped up on the curb in the processes. Oops.

   I don't want to know what my in-laws were thinking at that moment.

   Of course there are other moments. Such as recently when my husband and I decided to surprise my daughter and take her to the circus. We left early so that we might miss rush hour traffic and arrive with enough time to grab some food before the show began. I took a moment before we left to ask my husband if he had the tickets on him. He assured me they were at Will Call and we just had to pick them up. I confirmed he had money as well and decided to leave my purse at home. Who really needs a purse at the circus?

We were successful in missing heavy traffic and arriving early.

   I can only imagine how my husband must have felt at the ticket window the moment he was asked for ID to pick up our tickets and realized he didn't have his wallet with him. Which meant he had no ID. The desperation was on his face when he turned to me, but I was having a moment all of my own. Since I had left my purse at home, I had no ID either. Did we even have money? It was a long drive home in rush hour traffic to obtain these items. When the man asked my husband if he had anything on him with his name on it, he sheepishly replied "My phone?"

   It was a moment of immense relief when the operator was convinced that the two foolish people standing in front of him with the not so common last name and no clue where the seats were located as we had obtained them through a cast member were really who they said they were and gave us the tickets. At that moment, it restored my faith in my fellow human beings.

   A moment later I felt even better when my husband told me he had put the cash in his front pocket so we could afford the hot dogs and other junk food.

   These moments are by no means isolated. Should I mention the the moment when I realized I was the responsible adult in the room? Or the moment when I proudly found the address for an appointment to meet someone, only to find out I was a day early? Perhaps another time. For now I am going to laugh at my earlier moments.

   With the rapid approach of the holidays, I am making every effort to live in the moment, hoping that those moments are blissful, satisfying, and enjoyable, but taking whatever life gives me.

   The elf tells me that I will need another cup of coffee.

I hope you will excuse me while I take a moment to investigate what this means.

We don't have an elf on a shelf. 

Tis the season for writing...or doing something else

   The house is quiet. Peaceful. The bird is chittering. The sun is streaming through the windows on this cold December afternoon. I have my laptop and a hot cup of French Vanilla Cappuccino. My feet are propped up in my favorite chair next to my little bird. The decorations are up for Christmas, the house is tidy and the wash is pretty much done. These are optimal writing conditions.

   So why do I find myself staring at a blank page?

   Is my season for writing not righting now? There is a pun in there somewhere.

   I am thinking I should give up this precious free time and do somethings else. There are many things I should be getting done before the end of the year. Like calling to get an appointment for an adjustment on my walk aid. It is time to have it adjusted and I need to get new electrodes to keep it functional. I think I am down to the last ones. But before I can call for an appointment, I need to talk to the insurance to find out the billing procedures so that when I go to my appointment, I can make sure the office receives the correct instructions. For three years this has been a problem with the insurance and the office. I am tired of the problem.

   Twenty minutes into the phone call and still no person comes on the line.... Perhaps this is not the day to try and talk to the insurance company. Every five minutes I am sent back to the automated menu to select an option to speak to an agent. After pushing all the buttons, I am then subjected to mind numbing music. Is that ornament on the tree one that my daughter made in kindergarten? I think I am too easily distracted to do this. Discouraged, I hang up.

   Maybe instead I should be investigating my internet/phone options. This is probably pretty important. I have received about a hundred notifications that I had better contact my provider and make arrangements to prevent any interruption of my service. Interruption? Is that like a disturbance in the force? I suspect this could be bad. They are not very clear in all the notifications I have received on just what this interruption will be, so I call to talk to someone. This time I get a real person.  Unfortunately, this person doesn't seem to know what this interruption in service means either. But she is really happy to tell me about what they have to offer; a special price for the next twelve months for phone and internet. Of course, after this special offer period, my bill would be exactly the same as it is now. Kinda. Well, a few dollars more, actually. Mind you, that is a different price than was listed on the last notification sent to me. However, I would be assured of continuous, uninterrupted service, for whatever that was worth. Unfortunately my phone and internet would be different. My phone would no longer be a land line, it would be internet based. Oh, and my wireless router would not work with this new service, I would have to use one of their routers. Available for me to rent. Installation was free though, such a deal, and if it ever broke down, the company would send out a replacement in the next few days at no extra cost. Days during which time I would have no internet. Or phone. Well that sounds like an interruption in service.

   Apparently they don't like to provide me with the service I currently enjoy. If you ask me this really sucks. I rather like the service I have at this time. Overall, it has worked pretty well for us as a family. I don't have to rent equipment at a price that would buy me a new router every year or so, and  if my current wireless router does break down, I simply go out and purchase a new one to restore my internet service right away. Brief interruptions like these in my internet service does not affect my ability to use my phone. Of course, the agent thought I could keep my current package, but it would cost more and provide less.

   Not satisfied, I told the agent that I would have to think about it and review my options.

  The options are not great. My research so far indicates there are lots of companies offering internet. None of them offer land lines. Most want me to add cable TV. All of them use different terms to talk about speed and data capabilities. None of their prices match the advertisements. Conversation via live chat revealed that one company doesn't actually offer the service that they advertise specifically for my area. With every passing moment I am more confused and angry.

   So much for a more productive use of my time. Happy Holidays.

   Since I am not doing much writing, not able to reach an insurance agent and not moving forward against the empire in my effort to obtain a suitable internet and phone service, I toy with the idea of running to the store to pick up a few gifts. This option seems like it would be far more satisfying than my current situation. It also seems a bit like tempting fate.

   Rather than check to see if my bail/bond card is still valid, I cast about for other activities that would keep my afternoon from being a total waste and might help rekindle holiday good will and sense of peace that I enjoyed earlier. Lo and Behold, I find a stack of Christmas cards on my desk and a fresh roll of stamps. Never mind that the Christmas cards were bought two years ago and the boxes need a bit of dusting.... This is just the thing to bring my spirits up and get my creative juices flowing once more.

   As I head up the stairs, I hear laughter.

I think the Elf on a Shelf is laughing at me.

Which is odd. We don't have an Elf on a Shelf.