A few Februaries ago; a radio show on CBC asked for love stories, not more than six words long.
I came up with a few (though most of them sound more like bad fortune cookies or "love slogans" than super-short stories).
...I should also add I was single when I wrote most of these (or maybe, as you read them, you'll think I didn't need to tell you I was single).
Offering much love; seeking worthy recipient.
Seeking love; finding jerks! What gives?
Waiting... Call! Please call... Dial tone
Passion begat marriage; reality begat divorce
I thought: “FOREVER!” He thought differently.
The door closes. The heart breaks.
Confessed love. Unreciprocated. Awkward friendship remains.
Wanted love; bought dog; good choice!
Warm paws, constant love, always there.
Four-footed love, 15 years strong.
Heart desires; head debates; conflict ensues.
Tried again, he accepted. Relationship renewed.
Forever comfortable; always wrapped in love.
Tell the ones you care about, that you care about them! Not just today, but everyday and not just with words, but with actions.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 4, 2011
Wasted Time
“I need more time.” I declared one day.
I was leaving for a short trip to Mexico but procrastinated for a week about certain things that needed doing and was therefore rather far behind in my pre-trip preparations. Further evidenced by the fact that, only a mere three days before my trip, did it cross my mind to check to see if my Passport was valid – thankfully it was.
The phrase became my silent mantra as I listed off all the things I still had to accomplish before I left for my trip.
Then I thought of Beau.
Beau, my beloved dog, who has been dead for over two and a half years.
It wasn’t necessarily a thought out of the blue, as I had been getting my mini PC up to date and noticed that the picture of Beau that had been my background had mysteriously disappeared. So naturally he was on my mind as I sought out and re-established his fluffy mug as my desktop picture.
Then the phrase returned to me - “I need more time”.
I had uttered those words, or something very similar during the last few weeks of Beau’s life. As if pleading with the Universe to somehow reverse the passage of time that was leading, inevitably to Beau’s passing.
How many ways can these four words be interpreted?
Like a bad actor practicing a line in the mirror - changed the emphasis and changing the meaning - when the context changes, the meaning changes.
In a truly banal fashion, I have no doubt dismissed a waiter or two with these four words hardly lifting my eyes from the menu.
I probably uttered similar words during a particularly tough exam, feeling for certain, that I would be able to complete and conquer the exam if only I had more time.
During races when I made the unfortunate mistake of checking my watch and spending the brain power to extrapolate my progress I, more often than not, would curse internally and realize there was not enough time left for me to complete the distance I needed to and finish the race under my (completely arbitrary) upper time limit.
Then during my working days, deadlines looming with too mush work left to complete the words are uttered again. “I need more time.”
Or, as now, with the trip mere hours away, and a list of things to complete longer still – “I need more time.”
But none are so poignant or plaintive as when facing the loss of a loved one.
As a friend of mine pointed out this week - “There is never enough time.”
Time is something we seem to squander and spend freely and then moments later, lament the shortness of the time left.
I have been squandering a lot of time recently. Getting complacent with time – there will always be another day to do “this”, to do “that”, to say “you matter to me” or “I love you”.
But really, there is never enough time.
I must learn to squander less and treasure more the moments and the people who matter most to me.
I need to make the most of the time at hand because you never know when - “I need more time to get things done” turns into “I need more time to live my life”.
I was leaving for a short trip to Mexico but procrastinated for a week about certain things that needed doing and was therefore rather far behind in my pre-trip preparations. Further evidenced by the fact that, only a mere three days before my trip, did it cross my mind to check to see if my Passport was valid – thankfully it was.
The phrase became my silent mantra as I listed off all the things I still had to accomplish before I left for my trip.
Then I thought of Beau.
Beau, my beloved dog, who has been dead for over two and a half years.
It wasn’t necessarily a thought out of the blue, as I had been getting my mini PC up to date and noticed that the picture of Beau that had been my background had mysteriously disappeared. So naturally he was on my mind as I sought out and re-established his fluffy mug as my desktop picture.
Then the phrase returned to me - “I need more time”.
I had uttered those words, or something very similar during the last few weeks of Beau’s life. As if pleading with the Universe to somehow reverse the passage of time that was leading, inevitably to Beau’s passing.
How many ways can these four words be interpreted?
Like a bad actor practicing a line in the mirror - changed the emphasis and changing the meaning - when the context changes, the meaning changes.
In a truly banal fashion, I have no doubt dismissed a waiter or two with these four words hardly lifting my eyes from the menu.
I probably uttered similar words during a particularly tough exam, feeling for certain, that I would be able to complete and conquer the exam if only I had more time.
During races when I made the unfortunate mistake of checking my watch and spending the brain power to extrapolate my progress I, more often than not, would curse internally and realize there was not enough time left for me to complete the distance I needed to and finish the race under my (completely arbitrary) upper time limit.
Then during my working days, deadlines looming with too mush work left to complete the words are uttered again. “I need more time.”
Or, as now, with the trip mere hours away, and a list of things to complete longer still – “I need more time.”
But none are so poignant or plaintive as when facing the loss of a loved one.
As a friend of mine pointed out this week - “There is never enough time.”
Time is something we seem to squander and spend freely and then moments later, lament the shortness of the time left.
I have been squandering a lot of time recently. Getting complacent with time – there will always be another day to do “this”, to do “that”, to say “you matter to me” or “I love you”.
But really, there is never enough time.
I must learn to squander less and treasure more the moments and the people who matter most to me.
I need to make the most of the time at hand because you never know when - “I need more time to get things done” turns into “I need more time to live my life”.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
A Thin Line
“I don’t suppose potato chips are considered a vegetable;” I thought to myself . Then went on to wonder how many people make excuses like that to eat crap.
Vitamin “enhanced” carbonated beverages came to mind – but that’s more big business trying to help you justify your junk food.
There is only a thin line separating what we EAT from making us FAT.
EAT >> FAT
See it? One thin line.
I walk that line daily. Justifying junk food – “I did a two-hour workout yesterday”, “I’m doing a two-hour workout tomorrow”, “It’s a special occasion”, ‘Just this once”, “I’ve been good for the last little while” – the actual size of the “little while” becomes smaller and smaller as the excuses grow.
It’s only with conscious and concerted and consistent effort that I manage to either lose weight or keep the weight off.
As the excuses climb; so does the weight.
To the degree that I should almost keep track of my excuses as much as I keep track of my eating and exercise. See a bad trend and change it.
I write this now because I have noticed the excuse frequency rising of late and it is reaching an almost alarmingly exponential trend. Hopefully by “outing myself” it can lead me to being more honest and help me see the excuses for what they are – poor justifications for counter-productive behaviours that undermine my forward progress and my ultimate goals.
Vitamin “enhanced” carbonated beverages came to mind – but that’s more big business trying to help you justify your junk food.
There is only a thin line separating what we EAT from making us FAT.
EAT >> FAT
See it? One thin line.
I walk that line daily. Justifying junk food – “I did a two-hour workout yesterday”, “I’m doing a two-hour workout tomorrow”, “It’s a special occasion”, ‘Just this once”, “I’ve been good for the last little while” – the actual size of the “little while” becomes smaller and smaller as the excuses grow.
It’s only with conscious and concerted and consistent effort that I manage to either lose weight or keep the weight off.
As the excuses climb; so does the weight.
To the degree that I should almost keep track of my excuses as much as I keep track of my eating and exercise. See a bad trend and change it.
I write this now because I have noticed the excuse frequency rising of late and it is reaching an almost alarmingly exponential trend. Hopefully by “outing myself” it can lead me to being more honest and help me see the excuses for what they are – poor justifications for counter-productive behaviours that undermine my forward progress and my ultimate goals.
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