Good Enough

Welcome to 2020!! I have lots I want to accomplish this year, so I am making plans — not resolutions — and I am putting those plans on my calendar. For instance, I have a large storage unit that I want to clear out. I am sitting with my calendar and putting dates on it to make that happen.

One morning while my son Bryon and his wife Amber were visiting, Amber and I had a conversation. She made a wise statement and it went something like this: “If you give 100% to everything then you don’t have anything left to take care of yourself.”  This made me ponder, and I take it as this: “Enough is good enough.” I remembered a quote that Mary Poppins made in the Disney movie: “Enough is as good as a feast”.

Seeking perfection in everything is too much!!  So, with making plans for 2020, I am setting myself to one big clean-out goal — the storage unit — that is enough.

Do you have something you want to accomplish this year that doesn’t need 100%, it just needs to be good enough? What is it?

What Happened to the Fall?

Last week I began working on some glove puppets for a fall residency in a preschool. I planned to turn the gloves into autumn trees and needed to make 45 puppets. I’d seen some small fall-looking fabric leaves at the dollar store, and it would be a quick run, so I added the stop to my errand list. To my surprise, when I went into the store this early in the month of November, all of the fall items had already been replaced with Christmas ones!

“What happened to all of the fall stuff?” I asked.

“Oh, we switched out on Halloween,” was the answer I got.

“What? But the fall just started!” I left and ran to another dollar store, just in case they had left over fall foliage, but they didn’t, either. My next thought was Wal-Mart (it was just across the parking lot) – certainly they had not switched out all of their fall items! BUT! They had! All of their fall things, including Thanksgiving decorations (except for Thanksgiving paper plates and napkins) were 75% off and there was nothing left worth having. No colored leaves, just lots different-colored poinsettias… Did you know you can get poinsettias in purple with glitter?

What happened to November? What happened to the moment? What happened to slowly phasing out one holiday into the next? What happened to looking forward to the big dinner at Thanksgiving?  I understand having Christmas craft items and fabrics out early, after all I am a crafter and an artist; if you are going to make stuff for Christmas you need those things early so you can have handmade gifts ready – but changing over the ENTIRE STORE? It made me feel pushed, stressed, and rushed, like they were trying to force me into skipping over Thanksgiving.  

“Do you have any fall foliage left?”  I asked.

“Only what is in the clearance area,” was the answer.

I left the store frustrated and went home, without even finishing my other errands. I took out my colored felt and began cutting out leaves for my glove puppet trees. These would be for the moment, for the fall, for the season we are in right now. One of the reasons I most love storytelling and puppetry is that it takes you to the moment. The storyteller takes you on a journey that phases gently into what is next. Not a rush, not a push but a transition. To be sure, it is good to plan; we all have to plan ahead, but don’t forget about this moment.

Watch the leaves fall, smell the air, have a cup of tea, go listen to a storyteller, and then tell some stories around the dinner table as you gather with family and friends.

Sure enough, Christmas will get here eventually…don’t push it.

For Humanity

It was Monday and there was near panic in the woman’s eyes as she approached her husband.

“Saturday is the day,” she said. “I can’t do this alone.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I have to, but I don’t want to. You know how difficult this is for me.”

“I know,” her husband said as he put his arms around her then gently wiped away the tear and kissed her cheek. “It’ll be ok; you know you can do this. I’ll be right beside you. I have to do it too”.

“I can,” she said, “We can, there is no other way. It is for the good all humanity”.

The anticipation in the house was not one of excitement but rather a feeling of dread. The woman wanted it to just be over, but time marches at its own pace and does not consider the events at hand. If there was another option, the woman would have taken it but… there wasn’t. She knew in her heart that everyone must walk through their own valley of death at some point. “Humanity,” she whispered, “the good of humanity”.

She was human too and it would benefit her as much as anyone, probably more. She lived and worked among so many; she had to keep them all from harm. Was she a super hero? No. She was ordinary, with ordinary fears, and an ordinary life. This duty, this charge was placed upon this ordinary woman, and she was afraid as she was every year at this time when she had to face the same crisis for the sake of herself and all those around her. She always made the same choice; it was the better choice, but not easy in the least for her.

Saturday came and the woman and her husband woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and got in their van to face the noble deed. It was not difficult for the man at all but for the woman it was a tremendous strain. She’d had this fear within her since she was a child and it grew like The Blob from the old horror movie. Still, she had no doubt that she was doing the right thing. “Humanity,” she said to herself, “My children are human. I do this for them and my grandchild”.

She drove, her husband sat beside her. All was silent in the vehicle until her husband turned on the radio. The woman didn’t care, she just wanted it to be over.

After 20 minutes of travel they arrived at their destination. They opened their doors, got out of the van, shut and locked them. It only took two steps for them to tightly grab hands, supporting one another as they entered the building.

They walked to the back. With each step anxiety built up. This event would take place in a small secret place but they would be together. They both answered personal questions to a woman they did not know, then showed proof and papers that they were supposed to be there. Each was told to sit in a chair. A cart was rolled in and then it happened…

They got their flu shots.

And when it was all over they bought apple turnovers because the woman faced her fear and puff pastries made her feel better.

Keep A-Goin'!

Steven and I were in a fairly harsh car accident the last day of August of this year.  I was injured and have had to take some time to recover. The bruises have faded, the pain has greatly lessened, PT is underway, we purchased another van and I am back on the road performing.  

We all have setbacks in our lives and it can be hard. So many times when challenging things happen in my life I refer back to poems. My father loved poetry and recited it often. I like include a poem here and there in my performances, and I’ve even written some of my own that I include.

Just in case you’re a facing some challenges too, here is one of the poems my father loved to help you keep a-goin!!

Remember, in the challenge there is a new story to share.

“Ef you strike a thorn or rose, Keep a-goin’!
Ef it hails or ef it snows, Keep a-goin’!

‘Taint no use to sit an’ whine,
When the fish ain’t on yer line,
Bait yer hook an’ keep a-tryin’ – Keep a-goin’!

When the weather kills yer crop, Keep a-goin’!
Though ‘tis work to reach the top – Keep a-goin’!

S’pose you’re out of every dime,
Bein’ so ain’t any crime;
Tell the world you’re feelin’ prime – Keep a-goin’!

When it looks like all is up, Keep a-goin’!
Drain the sweetness from the cup – Keep a-goin’!

See the wild birds on the wing,
Hear the bells that sweetly ring,
When you feel like surgin’ sing – Keep a-goin’!”

— "Keep A-Goin'! by Frank L. Stanton

Living Every Day

My husband and I were in a car accident on Saturday. Steven is doing well, just a little stiff. I was at the point of impact. Let me say, "OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!!!” We will be ok, just need to heal for a while and then there is, of course, hunting for a new car (it was totaled), medical bills, paperwork, insurance, etc. to have to take care of. It will take a while.

I mention this because a surprise situation like this gets you thinking: no one really knows the twists and turns life will take. I want to wake up in the morning joyful and go to bed knowing I did my very best that day. I want to connect with someone every day; make a phone call and chat, go for tea with a friend, or stand in the front yard and talk to a neighbor. I  have a bookmark that I keep in my calendar with a quote I love:

That’s what I want, to live every single day of my life.  I also wish the same for you.

Tonight I will call each of my children, I will welcome my husband home from work and hug him (gently, because I am all bruised up and sore) and I will choose to be thankful for the pain because it means I am alive.