A Restless Wind Inside a Letterbox

I am so positively overwhelmed with joy right now. Yes. I’m not sure exactly from whence this came, but when happiness decides to shower its reckless zig-zaggy light all over you, you would be a fool to question it. So I don't.

However, in an effort to explain, and for those of you who are less impressed by the esoteric machinations of the universe and more inclined to savor cold hard facts, here’s how my morning went: everything went right. Simple as that. I woke up early to take my car to the car-fixing place and get my oil changed, something I have been neglecting for far too long. The mechanic I went to is located exactly one block from one of my favorite coffee houses, Twiggs, so I went there to wait. The time I spent waiting for my car to be finished was more like a gift than a chore. I snuggled down in a dilapidated overstuffed chair, savored a Mexican mocha, and finished reading an amazing book.

Let me tell you about this book: it’s about a mouse. It’s a children’s book-- technically speaking. I think far too many grown-ups are robbing themselves of some of the greater joys in life by avoiding books with pictures in them. This was a true beauty of a book. It's called The Tale of Despereaux. About a mouse, like I said, but what a great little mouse he was--a small quivering hero of a mouse, a poetic little mouse with a love of romance and art. The language of the book is sheer golden wonderment to read. Truly, it’s beautiful. I am happy that I am not the kind of person who feels self-conscious reading children’s literature in public. You should try it sometime; it’s liberating. Being a grown-up is so often utterly boring and unrewarding that you really ought to put more effort into being childish. This is one of my most cherished philosophies in life. When people tell me that I am like a little kid (as I approach my fourth decade in life) I don’t take it as any kind of insult or negative criticism--no matter how they intended it. I think some people might be jealous, as rooted in their stalwart grown-upness as they are. What a shame. Go swing on the swings! Stick your tongue out at a coworker. Laugh in public for no earthly reason. It’s not that difficult to shed the confines of adulthood, and I highly recommend it.

At Twiggs, I also had the extreme coincidental luck (if you believe in that) to sit down next to an anthropology student who is studying under the tutelage of my brother-in-law. Archaeologists revolve in such small circles that this doesn’t surprise me in the least. We had a very friendly chat about the perils and the joys inherent to the profession of archaeology before I went back to my mouse book so she could finish her presentation. After I picked up my car (it sounds so happy now!), I stopped at Henry’s to pick up two things and of course bought over twenty. They had my favorite green juice on sale! Bliss, I tell you. And then, to top off all my successes of the early day, every single traffic light on the way home was green, except one. And then I was only stopped there for about six seconds. My trip home was such a fast easy breeze it seemed like I got there in no time at all. In fact, I believe I actually got home before I left.