“Seize the day.” I decided that would be my rallying cry today after I listened to Ellis Paul’s song.

She comes to my bed like a whisper
Slips in the sheet like a ghost
Says in my ear “Hey mister,
You need to take this girl to the coast.

I need to kick my feet up in the ocean
Feel the taste of the salt sea spray
Baby let’s live in the moment
For it feels like life is taking the moment away”

Seize the day, Seize the day, Seize the day…

–Ellis Paul

The song goes on from there. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a video of him singing it. Sorry.

Frankly, it’s not been a great month. That it’s only January makes it all worse! My grandmother died early this morning. She was 95-ish, and it was expected. Hell, I’m 52; how great is it that I even had a grandparent still alive? One that would swim in Long Island Sound all the way through November into her 70s? Bike and drive into her 80s? Loved her husband to pieces and her cats and dogs as well? I need to be like that.

There are other family issues, other losses. Someone’s lost a job. Two friends have recently lost their dogs. Tynan had a dental emergency last week; suddenly nine (yes, nine!) teeth

had to go. Not sure why as he’d had a cleaning less than two years back. But at least he’s still among us, back to his old self, albeit without so much chewing.

Then there’s just the general tenor of the whole country lately, and this week specifically. We’re so divided in our…dissatisfaction. What about a collective attitude adjustment where we focus on the positive for a change? Maybe do something with it.

 

So, I’m seizing the day, my day. It’ll be a quiet one, and that’s okay. There’s writing this blog post, applying to this years Railyards Market, cleaning out some clutter and getting some laundry done. And I’ll continue hooking my rug, one of two that needs to be pretty much done come March 1. (That’s the cut-off date for entries in this year’s ALBUQUERQUE FIBER FIESTA if you’re interested in sharing some of your work.)

Seizing the day for me doesn’t have to be a big, bombastic event. All it means is that I’ll do what I set out to do, that I won’t bitch about other “stuff,” you know that crap you pretty much can’t do anything about anyway. It means that Tom and I will take Tynan for a little walk later during which we’ll notice the blue sky (oddly enough, it’s been raining the past few days here) and the birds overhead. We’ll revel in the 50-degree temperature, look at the snow on the nearby Sandia Mountains, and remind ourselves of how smart we were to move to New Mexico.

Are you seizing the day

or will you let all the negativity get you down?