Juggling In The Rain
In the rain
What does your Saturday look like? It’s a pretty rainy here in Hoosier land today. We were out playing baseball, jumping on the trampoline; rain or shine we were out today. It was one of those bare-faced, yoga pants wearing, "we are determined to play outside," attitude type days. Living in the Ohio River Valley, I’ve learned that weather is never predictable. It’s so different than living in the gorgeous foothills of North Carolina. The weather goes from -20 to 100 degrees here at any given moment! Not really, but seriously, you never know. Today is May 5th, Cinco de Mayo. It’s also the Kentucky Derby; hats, horses, pretty dresses, celebrities, you name it! There is a lot of celebrating going on right now. From proms, upcoming graduations, Mother’s Day…so many events, emotions and change all coming soon. It’s crazy how much life we juggle.
I know how to juggle, do you? I mean, like in real life; with balls, pins, scarves. You know, real objects? Today, I showed my son how I could juggle. He was amazed. I laughed at his expression while he watched me throw and catch one ball after the other. As we stood out in the rain, which was something he really loved, (what kid doesn’t like being out in the rain, right?) I realized that life is kind of like juggling in the rain. It’s fun, it’s slippery, it takes skill, it’s hard, and you control the cycle. Either you stop tossing altogether or you continue tossing one thing after the other to make sure you always have a free hand to catch the next; so the cycle continues. Today, I realized how art truly imitates life…juggling in the rain.
I learned how to juggle in elementary P.E. I had the coolest teacher. Her name was Ms. Johnson. She taught us how to juggle, ride unicycles, jump rope. All the fun stuff that kids don’t get to do a lot of now. I loved P.E. She taught us how to juggle in steps. We started with 2 scarves, then 3. Once we mastered the scarves, we moved on to balls; 2 then 3. Each time we were able to add another object to the mix once we felt comfortable. Who knew, 33 years later, I would still know how to juggle? It’s crazy, but I do. Matter of fact, I think I’m a pro at it. (hehehe!)
Water in my eyes
As women, we juggle things in life all the time. We juggle family, work, school, emotions, achievements, disappointments, loss, additions, friends, children, grief, expectations…we juggle it all. I’m not so much a pro at that juggling act right now. I’d like to believe I am, but realistically I’m not. I find myself trying to remember different things my parents would often say to me when I would get emotional. (Because I’m that girl. Emotions are evident and on display at all times, y’all!) I cry when I’m hurt, I cry when I’m angry, I cry when I am happy…I cry for everything. One thing my Daddy would tell me is, “ You can’t fight with water in your eyes, Linette.” For the longest time I didn’t understand that. The older I got, I realized he was telling me that my vision was being impaired by my emotions. It’s so true. You can’t fight, you can’t see, you can’t think clearly. You can’t do anything being emotional. It’s so much harder to live that way. Having the knowledge to get a result and actually walking it out are two totally different things. Getting my emotions and my body to catch up with my brain right now is as hard to do as zipping your pants using one hand and that hand has no thumb. It’s nearly impossible.
It was kind of prophetic, me juggling in the rain today. See, I’m really terrified of storms. I always have been. My Daddy used to pick me up during a storm, take me to a window and sing an old classic song, The Storm is Passing Over, by Donald Vails. "The storm is passing over. The storm is passing over. The storm is passing over, hallelu.” It never failed, every time he sang that to me, as we watched the storm, it would disappear! I thought my Daddy was amazing! He could stop the storm! So today, as I juggled in the rain with my little boy watching me in amazement, I heard my Daddy singing. It reminded me that even though right now life is absolutely bananas, and my emotions are all over the place, I can still juggle. And the best part of it all, you ask? The storm is passing over. I just need to wipe my eyes so I can see.
