2 Buck Shazam!!

"As the sun sets, we've all had those nights where you question your choices and where your life is going."  Tori Amos

We went there a lot in the summertime.  I only remember the time of  year so specifically because of the sound of my flip flops upon the creaky (terribly uneven) hardwood floors & the fact that I was usually in a swimsuit top & shorts. I was endlessly in swimming lessons, but that's another story.  M.E. Moses, it was the kind of store where you could find school supplies on one aisle & an ice cream soda shop, complete with spinning red bar stools & a malt machine, on the other. It always smelled like popcorn. I loved the aisles of M.E. Moses.  To me, it felt like walking into an amusement park with endless possibilities & a better than average chance of exiting with a purchase of my choosing.  Ok, so said chosen item would need to be $2 or less, but still it was fabulous.  I have no idea why the memory of M.E. Moses keeps popping into my mind lately, but I think it's about choices.  So many choices!  Oooo the amount of time a child will spend debating a 2 buck purchase. Picking one thing up, typically some sort of barbie ensemble complete with shoes, I would carry it around the store until aha! Something else bright & shiny would appear & SHAZAM this was the thing I'd been waiting for. The most fabulous item EVER!  Probably a bright swirly beach ball or some sort of cheap board game in which to harass my entire family. After all, why should they miss out on all the fun? 
Sometimes my life feels like an aisle at M.E. Moses.  SO many things I want to do, so many things I want to see. So many projects. Kinda crowded. SO many ideas, changing from one day to the next. I feel like I'll never have enough time to explore all the possibilities, but one thing's for sure..

Ima need at least $2.50

I think I'll slip on my flip flops & grab a malt.

Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xo

Birdee Bow

Holding Patterns

"She was a girl who knew how to be happy, even when she was sad..& that's important - you know."

Marilyn Monroe

One gorgeous sunny afternoon while flying the friendly skies I heard that dreaded announcement one never really hopes to hear while at 20,000 feet.  "Ladies & Gentlemen we've been notified there's a landing back up. We'll be in a holding pattern for a bit.  We'll keep you posted."  I imagined the plane like a huge jet propelled waiting room in the air, just circling around & around killing time in the clouds.  As I felt the warm sun shining through the window & across my shoulders, I turned another page of Vogue.  "Relax",  I said to myself with a huge breath & a looong exhale.  I started taking a closer look at my cabin neighbors, the sort of second look I had not even thought of taking a few moments before.  I'm sure the minutes between the pilot's announcement  & the actual prepare for landing call were 15 to 20 at most, but it's amazing how those seconds seem to feel like hours.  And although time kept slowly inching along at snail speeds?  Eventually, a funny thing happened.. I began to become more comfortable, more at ease with the situation. Forgetting what was taking place, I was happily oblivious in the holding pattern.

Reflecting on that event now, I can't help but think of the holding patterns of life.
Isn't it interesting how we sometimes stay just a little bit too long or hold on just a little bit too tight?  At all costs we become accustomed to the patterns, somehow finding solace in the infinite circles that bring us back to the same results again & again.   Is their familiarity in the loops?  I'm not sure, but I think it has a lot less to do with human nature & a lot more to do with human spirit.  We're fighters.  Survivors.  It's what we do.  We wanna take our circumstances & turn them into bright & shiny chances.  Ok, so sometimes enough is enough..circles eventually have to stop.  But I love the idea that holding patterns, even in their most languid state, can result in:  RESILIENCE.

Maybe a little dizziness is a small price to pay, if it gets us where we wanna go.

Wishing you circles that turn into roads that lead to your happiness..

Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xo

Birdee Bow

ME? Really?

On a recent John Hughes movie marathon I fell madly in love with Sixteen Candles all over again.  So many classic scenes & memorable quotes from the movie about the worst birthday ever. I've seen it a million times so I was a bit surprised when one particular moment gave me that deer in the headlight feeling. A millisecond of  the movie which I had forgotten or misplaced somewhere in my memory of Molly Ringwald awesomeness.  It's the moment when she exits the church..after her sister's debacle of a wedding.  When her character Samantha Baker steps out onto the church steps in that hideous pink bridesmaid dress with a wreath of carnations wrapped around her hair and there HE is.  The crush of the century, Jake Ryan.  Not standing there, not walking there, not moving there..just leaning there against the coolest red Porsche of 1984 teenage dreams. Cool. Nonchalant.  Casual..in that whole perfect sweater vest, button down collar shirt, 501 Levi's & penny loafers way...  Ooo okok so as GREAT as he looks? The moment I'm actually referring to is not that one ;) it's the moment when Samantha does the double take, looking over her shoulder "ME?" pointing to herself she motions with her mouth..as if to say YOU are waiting for ME? Really?

"YEH You" He motions back with a smile.

"ME?"  What a great metaphor for life. When we're 16 we expect to have those moments, but who knew they lasted all life through??  And honestly I think guessing & second guessing oneself has nothing to do with self esteem but rather something to do with reality, truth & that endearing lost attribute of the past called modesty.

And honestly, isn't it more fun not always knowing?  Isn't it ok to not be proof positive all the time?
I think it's entirely more daring to put it all out there without a clue.  Zero stamped guarantees.
No matter how many candles.

May your day be filled with John Hughes scenes as stellar as a Johnny Bender Fist Pump in the air.
  
"YEH You."

Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xo

Birdee Bow

THE GOOD SIGNS

The GOOD Signs

When you forget how old you are & remember only how fabulous you feel..

When your favorite songs continually play in your head even when the radio is playing something hideously AWFUL.

When you stop in front of the mirror NOT to check your look but to do your best JAMES BROWN..

When you can't help but SMILE when you think of someone else's SMILE

When it's suddenly ok to be yourself...the flawed, imperfect, completely YOU you.

When you put on the old sweatshirt & the ripped jeans..but don't skip the lip gloss or Escada.

When you fully believe that miles, minutes & zip codes have zero power to permeate matters of the heart.

When  you totally SKIP the fashion magazine purchase because you feel MORE Glam than 

Any Cover Girl Today..

When you know that good days will come & go but you KEEP ON envisioning the GOOD,

 coming back around ...on a factory style conveyor belt

GOOD is on the way

Inside Jokes & Stolen Moments kept inside your heart like a long lost 5 dollar bill in last year's

 jacket pocket.

On reserve & ready to cheer you up,

Just Reach In..

"Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you're riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!"    Bob Marley

Hepburn Hugs & Ric Ocasek Dreams

xoxo

Birdee Bow