Shine Your Shoes
I spent a total of nine hours in traffic yesterday. Alone.
I cannot tell you that I hated the experience. There is something about driving alone that is very nurturing, sitting very still and being carried for long periods of time without having to look into another human face. But rather, like looking into your own eyes in the mirror, it is this neutral brain-space that allows a kind of brain detox. (And by detox I mean every part, including bad symptoms.)
Don’t get me wrong, that amount of time doing one thing seriously wear away at this positivity. By the last hour I thought I might be driving forever and that I would no longer have a physical body or a destination. I felt like I would never be able to do anything ever again because my body may have forgotten how. I might have to jump start my system (following the detox comparison) and slowly introduce interactions and just plan old actions back into my life. I could hardly keep up conversations at work after the first four hour block, let alone after adding the one and a half hour lunch block. But getting home after the last stint was just too much.
The reason I am telling you this is because of what greeted my arrival.
But first, some context. My parents went away for the weekend on a married couples retreat. I am watching my younger brother who is ten. One of my Dad’s students, we’ll name them Josh, picked my brother up from school and hung out with him until I got there at 9:45 p.m.
So I pulled up, beat and zoned out, not looking forward to having to appear coherent and talk to a stranger. YOU GUYS! He was the kindest, most genuine student I have ever met from the school where my Dad is teaching right now. I brewed us some tea and we had wonderful conversation littered with interludes of laughing at the movie my brother was watching. Later I found out that he had made breakfast for dinner (i.e. pancakes) for the two of them.
It was too much for me. It was all I could do to crawl under the covers with a big fat smile on my face and sleep like a baby (please excuse the unabashed literary reference). These kind of crippling experiences that keep me up at night all jittery and confused. People like the young french guy who makes world class croissants and scones every morning and whistles to himself, or this guy. They may as well ask if they can bring me a tangerine.
How can you prepare your heart for something like that? People are just too beautiful.
3 Comments »
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We need to conquer traffic. Just the thought of it again kills me.
Also, dude sounds so kind! Adorable! Thank God for his existence!
Comment by Matthew — April 19, 2008 #
you’re arrival!
almost 1/4th of your day spent, amongst others, in and with the forest. growing.
how can a home not be warming post, with others of challenge and purity?
i wonder what thou is uptoist…
Comment by Jordan — April 21, 2008 #
We also need to conquer the other kind of traffic.
Comment by Matthew — April 21, 2008 #