My friend Laurie said this to me, that her dust bunnies were the size of Labradors. It was not an apology, merely an observation.

Laurie is adamant in her executive coaching work with clients and in her own life. She admonishes her clients, “Pick your A’s.”

We can’t get an A in everything. It’s not possible. We can try and it will exhaust us. We must pick.

Laurie told her sons, years ago, when they commented on the dust bunnies, that she wasn’t getting an A in housekeeping. She was getting an A in raising her sons (mission accomplished).

My condo now has dust bunnies the size of Labradors. Not that big, but seriously, Roxie can shed. I have and use a Furminator,  SleekEZ, slicker brush, rubber brush, and a brand-new Dyson V8 cordless. Still, the bunnies roll.

I am relabeling them “love notes.” They are Roxie’s messages to me that she is happy to live here, that she is glad to live with me. It helps, especially when I am pulling a loose hair from the rim of my glass or the corner of my mouth.

The bigger problem is not the hair, but my A’s. My A’s are unclear because my definition of self is unclear.

This is a strange time, like at the beach in those moments when the tide shifts from going out to coming in, or vice versa. The pull or push of the waves disappears and the ocean becomes oddly still.

The tides of my life are changing.

When I feel like this, loose, floating like kelp in the water, it’s time to get out my compass.

Chewing the Cud of Good

Thankful for rest.