I keep your picture in my worn-through shoes...

Someone Else’s Life by Joshua Radin

And somehow I'm leading someone else's life;
I cut her star down with my knife.
And right now I still see the way the moon
plays this tune though our night's died.

My hands shake.
My knees quake.
It's every day
the same way.

'Cause then came you.
Then there's you.
I keep your picture
in my worn-through shoes.
Then there's you.
Then came you.
When I'm lost
I look at my picture of you.

And somehow I'll make tonight our own,
show you every way I've grown since I met you.
And right now I'll be the boy in your next song
I'll learn the parts and play along if you let me.

My hands shake.
My knees quake.
It's every day
the same way.

'Cause then came you.
Then there's you.
I keep your picture
in my worn-through shoes.
Then there's you.
Then came you.
When I'm lost
I look at my picture of you.

If you let me, I'll show the world to you.
Yes, if you let me, I'll know just what to do.

'Cause then came you.
Then there's you.
I keep your picture
in my worn-through shoes.
When I'm lost in your eyes
I see the way for me.

It's the little things...

Going to Target on your lunch break is a death wish. Seriously. Pandemonium.

I wouldn't go there unless I needed something desperately, and it just so happened that I needed something...desperately. So, I made a mad dash. Foregoing a cart I knew what I needed and made a beeline. Walking fast, I of course found myself on the heels of a mother lecturing her child, an older woman who was trying to decide between Kleenex or Kleenex with lotion, a couple debating Diet Coke vs. Diet Coke Plus. Ugh.

Doesn't it seem like when you are in a hurry the world moves in slow motion. "Lady, no one in the history of the world has ever walked this slowly. Ever." Wonderful and uplifting thoughts like that enter your mind when you feel put out in the least. Well, my hour lunch break was dwindling and I knew exactly what I needed, but people and Target employees and spilled drinks kept getting in my way.

Finally, I had what I needed in hand and made my way to one of the supposedly-faster-checkout-lanes. It wasn't. So, going against my gut I switched. Don't ever switch lanes. You are guaranteed a longer wait in the line you switch to. Or maybe that is just my luck. I was now standing in the 10 item or less line, frustrated. I was undoubtedly looking at my watch, checking my cell phone, keeping an eye on the line I had been in...when I noticed the people standing in front of me.

A grandmother and grandson were ahead of me in line. I imagine it was the little boy's birthday. Or maybe he did something spectacular that his grandmother wanted to recognize. He had a stack of Pokemon cards in his hand and the biggest smile on his face. When it came time for him to put the cards up on the counter, he laid each of them down gently and paid close attention as the woman at the register scanned each one and placed it in the bag. He quickly moved to hold the bag as his grandmother paid for the cards and his excitement was contagious. In watching this I had forgotten all about the time and the fact that I was frustrated and on my lunch break. My attitude completely changed. As he walked away I said to the cashier, "How does it feel to have just made that little boy's day? I haven't seen someone that excited in a long time." She said, "I know...oh, look at him. He is excited." At this point, the girl behind me spoke up and said, "That's adorable." To which I replied, "I haven't been that excited about anything in a long time." And as I walked away both of them said, "Yeah, me either."

As I left, I passed the grandmother kneeling beside the boy and opening a package of the cards. He couldn't even wait to leave the building.

As we get older, it seems that things have to be bigger and better to make us happy. The happiness that was once caused by a candy bar in the checkout line is now an ipod or a new car or a vacation. I wish I could get back to that simplicity. I mean, I still have glimpses of simplistic joys: a vanilla Diet Coke on a crappy day, an ice cream cone before lunch. But yeah, to anticipate getting something as small as a pack of cards so much that I have to rip it open before I step foot outside the store...that would be nice. Wouldn't it? Finding joy in the smallest things. I think the world would be a happier place if we could all master that perspective.

I want to carry you...

"Carry" by Billy Collins

I want to carry you
and for you to carry me
the way voices are said to carry over water.

Just this morning on the shore,
I could hear two people talking quietly
in a rowboat on the far side of the lake.

They were talking about fishing,
then one changed the subject,
and, I swear, they began talking about you.