I am used to my birthday being part of a lovely time of year - the wind-down of summer, the cooler mornings, the lower humidity. A time when the promise of a new school year provided hopes & excitement of new challenges & opportunities when a new schedule circumscribed my life & relieved the boredom of the summer. The morning after my birthday, however, has been marred by the niggling fear I get - wondering what might happen on 9/11. In 2003, I flew on that day overseas and was mightily relieved to step off the plane safely and 6 weeks pregnant. I have a cold right now so I took a nap after waving goodbye to Lil at the bus stop. When I awoke & checked the news, I was glad to see it was just a beautiful day in suburban DC, a place I grew up (I think my brothers might have inculcated this fear) knowing was a target for the Soviets.
Show a little patience today, give an extra hug to loved ones, take a minute to reach out. Don't complain about something. Last night, there was an event clogging up the parking lot at the Howard County Center for the Arts (where Lil takes ballet) called No Boundaries. The program is a weekly musical theatre class for special needs/intellectually disabled people in their 20s/30s. As I tried to rush in to drop off Lil's dinner, frustrated by the parking & worried about the fact I didn't have my checkbook to pay for ballet, I realized I had to chill out. In some cases, attendees were on crutches, some didn't obey the social courtesies of holding the door open or letting the first person to reach the door to go in first. One parent gently scolded her daughter "Addy, wait! Don't push ahead!" (name changed). Addy didn't acknowledge, look back or change her behavior. Addy's mother was still barely in the building as Addy pushed her way into the theatre. Another parent said, "I guess she's just so excited for this class." While the mother still seemed chagrined & slightly annoyed, I found comfort in that positive note.
As a hasty, critical, judgmental person, I'm going to smile if & when I see Addy throughout the fall rushing into the theatre.
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