Rise early, have a tan, collect things and have hobbies. Advice imparted many years back by an older, wise gentle person who wreaked with gravitas. So I started collecting book marks. It all began as a kid when we drove to Florida and stopped at South of the Border in South Carolina. It was plastic and had a picture of a sombrero. I added two more one from Williamsburg Virgiinia with a picture of our founding fathers. My third came from a school trip to Old Museum Village in Monroe, New York. That one I clipped to the top of the page of my Nancy Drew adventure.

On a random rainy day when I feel I’ve lost my place in my book I look through my collections. Flipping pages to see what happened next, albeit antiquated is still my choice of read. The absence of loosing battery, with no clicks or beeps and nothing to plug in to find out if the protagonist gets pulled over on the road for texting is my slow down, regroup time.  I pause the haunting thoughts, turn the beat around and as my Bubby would say, “look the other way mamala.” Metaphorically with the rapid pace of the progression of time, on the days that feel endless with emotional clutter how cool would it be if in an etch a sketch erase style we could come up with a resolve. In Louis Armstrong’s “wonderful world” when he heard babies cry and watched them grow he knew they’d learn more than he’d ever know and he said to himself “what a  wonderful world.” So here’s to the days before unplugging, rebooting, memes, twittering, emoticons or cyber bullying. As the dots come dancing in response to a text, sometimes hours later, with no audible voice, no inflections and a smiley face replacing a giggle I pray for the millennial’s and our grandchildren a collection of bookmarks where they can find their place even if their battery wears out.

Lady Luck generally woos those who earnestly, enthusiastically, unremittingly woo her. At times when you find yourself working your way back to

productive, meaningful and valuable, remember there are only (4) corner pieces to your biographical puzzle. Valuable? I would say so. Keep white out and tide pens close by.  With lot’s of lemons into lemonade reminders put “finding your way out of a paper bag” into waze and head North. Ask for directions from the friend reaching down to give you a leg up. And then shut up, because if you find one friend, who takes you from zero to ten when you’re on the side of the road because you ran out of gas, your luck just changed. Here’s to Tiger and Momma. Thank you for sharing your very long ladder and turning the heat up in the hot tub even when you are not getting in. 

When it boils down to niceties make mashed potatoes out of cauliflower.

Some of the people… not everyone is meant to break bread, raise a glass and smoke the colloquial cigar together. When your personal book report is due after you read the whole book, no cliff notes, you italicize the memorable parts. While your now the only person grading your critique your goal is pleasing you. Write yourself a thank you note. Take care of you and have your own back. One day if you are lucky enough to count decades, what other people think matters less and less. Carry your own concept of yourself and play your own game all the while keeping your eye on the prize. The Cracker Jack box hid the prize somewhere toward the bottom. So for today, open the bottom of the box, rip open the prize and make the rest of your day valentine sweet. 

Life always offers you a second chance.  It’s called tomorrow. Two things you never want to hear from someone you are seeking help from to a problem is,” we’ve never see this before and “there is nothing we can do about it.” Not every problem has a solution, but most do. There are times when keeping your sunny side up in a rain storm feels impossible. Often, as hard as we try “the see what tomorrow brings” just doesn’t do it for us.

Who’s to say what level of water makes you sink. Until you are up against the wall and facing a situation that needs to be fixed to work properly, it’s hard to know when your “ Say Uncle” moment is. We’ve all encountered now or never moments where making split second decisions either gets you the last seat on the plane or doesn’t. 

More importantly when your doctor explains two different methods for cure and leaves it up to you, after the what if it was your daughter question.

At one point in a decision making process do you cave? The path of least resistance has room for one more. Do you sign up for it or take the high road that has very little traffic?

So just for today why not follow Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction for a rare, early spring. Trust your situation will be remediated, (for those in the know) and this time put the horse before the cart. What are you waiting for?