Grateful Blog: Day 45: There’s a lot to be Grateful for on Valentines Day. But today it wasn’t the obvious. I was driving home earlier past the high school, a cold and rainy day when I saw a young girl in a short skirt and heels and no coat walking with who I could only assume was her boyfriend. She labored across the street in those heels, navigating the puddles in the uneven asphalt. It was almost comical but then again it wasn’t. We’d all BEEN there before: A perfect cocktail of youth, vanity and stubbornness, struggling to do the simplest of tasks, in this case, crossing the street.
I’ve got my first big CD release coming in a few days. I’d say a few of those same childish emotions still try to creep in the process, like that desire to impress. And heck, I’m certainly not above being stubborn or having an ego now and again. The difference today seemed to be that when you’re a little older and you’ve been knocked down a time or 2 (or 7, who’s counting?) it’s easier to recognize those same traits in yourself for what they are. And it seems like in doing so you can put them behind you a little easier. Then that stubbornness feels more like conviction, and vanity seems more like quiet confidence, and the desire to please, well I’m stuck with that one. Guilty as charged. I just like making people happy if I can. Maybe that’s why I get up on stage.
Today, just as the light turned green, I saw the girl finish crossing then leaned one hand then another on her boyfriend and took off both of her high heels and walked the rest of the way down the street, barefoot in February, in the cold rain. Maybe her lessons will come quicker than mine, I hope so. But today I’m Grateful for that lesson and all the lessons, that remind us who we are and where we’ve been. Happy Valentines Day!
