t h e b e e b o x

The Shape Of Things To Come

.

Overnight it seems, I find myself coming home to a clubhouse of toddlers. There are little communities of Lego blocks underfoot. Long outgrown shoes look out like sentinels on the stairs. Kiddie cutlery vies for space on our table. Stuffed toys mutate, temper tantrums flare, little hands make a frantic grab for me.

Yes, time does fly. My boys are about to depart the town of babyhood. This fact hits me hard one lazy afternoon as I was looking at their pictures. Their limbs are longer, their features more defined, their individual characters are forming. Suddenly, I realize that one day, they will have other preoccupations that will not involve me, there will be rooms with locked doors, there will be dozens of pimple-faced friends, there might be late-night whispered phone calls, and there is the possibility of, oh my gosh… girlfriends.

I have no plans to counter the inevitable. My only plan is, this year, I will have more piggyback rides with my two boys. I better get in shape.

.

Time’s Up

I was standing in line at the department store, waiting for my turn at the cashier's. Right behind me was an elderly couple—gray-haired, frail looking, very senior citizens. The little old lady was clutching a pretty pair of sandals and looking impatient. I empathized with her; our line really was taking so long. It turns out the woman in front had an item that was not tagged. I shifted impatiently foot-to-foot while one of the store staff went to find a price tag.

The little old lady turned to me and said, “They are taking so long aren’t they, for a single item?” 

I nodded, “Yes, they are.” 

She clucked her tongue at her husband, shaking her head, “See this, they are wasting our time.”

I just nodded, yes, again. I smiled dispassionately at her husband, who was rolling his eyes as if to say, “I’m sorry, she usually gets this way when we shop.”

He was soon to receive his comeuppance, though. As I stood there watching, the little old lady deftly elbowed her way to the front of the counter.

Her tiny head with its gray curls bobbed emphatically as she leaned over and called out loudly to the cashier, “Hija, look at me, I am old. You are wasting time that I haven’t got!”

Exactly.
.

Jumping Right Into 2006

So did you have a blast ushering in the New Year? Happy 2006! I was stuck in vacation limbo for a long while there, I enjoyed the time spent away from work way too much. I almost regret going back. But responsibilities beckon to those of us who have to earn our keep. And so I am back to the grind, although in my mind’s eye I still have a margarita in hand, salt crust white on the rim, yellow liquid dancing in the light.

I have no New Year’s resolutions, I’m just vowing to improve my life in every way that I can. Sound good enough? Hell, yes. No looking back, just moving on, head up, eyes homing in on a future that, if only for the sure fact that it will be different from the tribulations of 2005, is a future worth racing after. A future that is filled with so much possibility, a future worth striving for, surely before I croak.

A better year—that’s what I will promise myself. I will live well, be more gracious, aim for the lofty, love more.
.