The Rough Landing

Walking the path in my 'secret garden' just before Spring livens it with warmth and color.

Last week I didn't have a clue as to why I felt so....weird!   And, even though I was homesick on the road, I re-entered my life at home with a droopy melancholy.   I love the energy of doing the art shows, but, I miss my life after a few days.   So, I entered last week with random, out-of-the-blue crying jags and about as much ambition as an old dog sleeping on a warm bed.  The weather was windy-nipped, cold and gray and I am sure it made me feel just a bit more blah.

I tried to post on Friday but my brain was frozen; devoid of all creativity, so I bumped along to check out my blog buddies  With automated mindlessness I passed down my blog roll, clicking at what ever the little arrow landed upon.  Adrienne de Pitera's was the second blog I hit and her post was a simple one: she was highlighting a video of an old gal dancing.  In all honesty, I didn't really have the oomph to watch one of those  feel good YouTube videos but I went ahead and clicked play anyway.

The longer I watched the lower my jaw dropped as Sarah "Paddy" Jones, seventy-five year old Salsa dancer, shimmied, glided, twirled, leaped and back-bended her way across the stage.  My first reaction was, "wow how freaking cool is this fit, spunky, beautiful, naturally aged woman!"

A gradual smile began to sprout slowly across my attitudinal-sagged face and as it grew, so did a joyous feeling inside my solar-plexus.  Aha!  No matter what our age, our lives will always include challenges, like mud to wade through.  I'll bet Sarah "Paddy" Jones has had few rough landings herself.  Of course she has!  Everyone does!  Hello!!

I would like to think I am as mentally, emotionally and physically flexible as I was when I was twenty, thirty, or even forty-something.  Maybe I am.  Maybe I am more flexible.  I have had rough landings before, often after I have challenged myself to do something new and different.  But, I know if I didn't take on those challenges, I would always regret it.  I've had those regrets, and while they may not be as intense at the moment, they stick around and become like an old wart that won't go away.

It's a new week and for the most part, my routine is effortless.  I leave again on Thursday.  Back to the long flights and connections, restaurant food, hotel rooms and travel sized toiletries, meeting and greeting lines of people and smiling and talking from morning till night.  It's all part of my new routine.  It's just like learning a new dance.  And, I am doing it, dam it!