an excuse to s l o w down

I'm very slowly making my way through the archives of This American Life. I don't know if it's the kitschy harmonica music that links the segments, the fact that I've been battling strep throat and Ira Glass' nerdy mellow voice in the background is such a wonderful distraction to the shards of glass in my throat or that given all the bad news in the world, these simple stories - that almost always end up making me laugh - also serve as a great reminder that people are fucking weird {in the greatest way}. Weird and sweet and corny and sentimental and that everyone has a story to tell. It's helping me slow down and focus on my own story. It's way too easy for me to spin out of control, organizing errands, meals, dentist appointments, flu shots. And then I stop and tell myself how boring that is and how much more My Story has to offer. There are sweet preschool songs that I can't quite understand from his secret life at school and enthusiastic pronouncements that almost everything I suggest is "A GREAT IDEA." An almost six-year-olds brain, exploding with new words he can read. Words from the actual book laying in his lap and store signs comprehended and shouted out from the back seat as we streak through the blissfully rainy March streets.