I’ve Finally Got My Mind Together, But Now The Rest of Me Is Falling Apart

 (Excerpt from Random Notes, available on Amazon & most online retailers where books are sold.)

As a child, I read everything from mysteries to the Bible. From biblical characters like Daniel, who bravely survived the lion’s den, I learned that you can survive by using your wits. When it came to David and Goliath, I heard somewhere that, after that incident, there was a ban on slingshots in the land. Seriously?

Initially, I read enticed by the great stories and hours of escapism they provided as I turned each page. Then I began to read and even analyze them. Much like the Little Red Hen, I discovered something. (No, not that constantly looking up to see if the sky is falling can cause whiplash or land you face first in dog-do; I meant that other lesson.) “If you want something done right, you usually have to do it yourself.” Ask any woman with a husband or children.

From Romeo and Juliet, I learned that a serious Love Jones can be the death of you. (However, keep that on the down-low, okay?) From Chicken Little, also sometimes known as Henny Penny, I learned that on life’s journey we frequently meet a lot of strange folks along the way. Hopefully, none with such names as Cocky Lockey or Turkey Lurkey but, hey, I’m not one to judge.

"Homer's Odyssey” was a story about a man’s wanderlust, a wife’s longing for a spouse, a son and a father. It was also my first-ever introduction to the absent-father syndrome.

In college, Socrates, Plato and Nietzsche were absorbed into my pores like steam. Some months later, Jung (a famous psychologist) helped me to rediscover my inner-child. To tell the truth, until then, I didn't even realize that she was missing.  
Today, I read books for entertainment rather than enlightenment. Alas, while I've finally got my mind together, the rest of me is going to pot. For starters, there is that one chin hair that persists on growing back even after continued yanking with industrial-strength tweezers. Only now has it started playing hard ball: as early as last week, I noticed that it was back and had returned with an entourage.

Meanwhile, further down, my knees are in competition to see which one can make the most noise when I bend over. In case you are wondering, it’s the right one.

However, I’ve sworn not to let these things bother me. You see:

                              I am grounded.
                                                                           I’m centered.
Finally!

-Author Carol Gee
Retired military (AF) veteran, Author, Columnist and Motivational Speaker