Sunday, December 2, 2007

One and a Half Glasses of Wine

I wish I could live my life the way I feel when I've had one and a half glasses of wine.

When I've had one and a half glasses of wine, I can sit back and soak in the world around me. Everything my child does is genius. Solutions to problems come quickly to mind, and everything becomes simple.

When I've had one and a half glasses of wine, I become the parent I want to be, knowing that if my son told me at age 19 that he wanted to get in the car and drive to New England to see the leaves change, I will tell him to go, that he should go and experience the world.

Having one and a half glasses of wine makes me a better singer and dancer. And I can remember all of the funny lines to my favorite movies and inject them into conversation at just the right moment.

One and a half glasses of wine lets music wash over me like waves and lyrics mean so much more. A sad song is more touching, and a happy one makes me forget that I don't know any good dance moves.

When I have had one and a half glasses of wine, I become more in touch with my mortality, and become more thankful for the life that I have. My blessings are more obvious, my time is more precious, and my patience is thick with indulgence. It is a reminder that life happens once, and we are wise to stop once in a while and soak it in.

And then it hits me. What is so wrong with my life that I need to numb it with a bottle of cheap red wine to be happy? And then it hits me again - it's not my life, it's me. I can be a little intense. Some might say I am too hard on myself. I like those things about me, but everyone needs a break from themselves once in a while. What I'm trying to say is, one and a half glasses of wine lets me get out of my own way so I can appreciate just how amazing my life really is and take my focus off of the next hurdle to be cleared. And then, as it begins to fade and life resumes to normal, I become preoccupied with dishes in the sink, laundry that needs to be folded, cats that need to be fed, and all of the little things that keep me from truly living in the moment. And that's fine; having a chance to step away and see the big picture for a while reminds me that I am one lucky lady.

Life comes at us fast. In the blink of an eye, a year has passed and we can't even remember what we did last weekend. If I have a resolution for 2008, it will be to live more of each day as if I have just had one and a half glasses of wine.

1 comment:

Chief Kitty Herder said...

I love it! And you are right. Life is WAY to short. Have you heard the song "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney. The chorus goes:

"Don't blink. Cause just like that, you're 6 years old and you take a nap, and you wake up and your 25 and your highschool sweetheart becomes your wife. Don't blink, you just might miss your babies growin like mine did. Turnin in to moms and dads, next thing you know, your better half of fifty years is there in bed, and your prayin God'd take you instead. Trust me friend, 100 years goes faster than you think. So don't blink."

I love that song. And it is so right. It seems like the older we get, the faster time flies. So you go girl... live your life like you only have one-- because when it's gone, it's gone. And we don't get a second go around. :)