TTFN

Apparently this blog break is going to last longer than I thought. I had two different sets of posts in my head, but at the moment, they both feel like they need more work, and you'd probably rather not read drivel in the meantime.

Once small story before I go, which was going into a 7Things post at some point. I ran into a woman I've known socially since our children were small, but we don't know each other well--just the kind of thing where we'd see each other at PTA meetings or whatever. Now we run into each other every once in awhile and wave or say a quick hi. This particular time we were in a waiting room together, so we ended up chatting for five or ten minutes, longer than I've talked to her in more than a decade (and actually, maybe ever).

Random picture included because always have a picture!

 

We updated each other on our kids and talked about what we'd been up to, and I could see in her face and in her body language that she was building up what I was saying into something much different than what I meant. I could see her thinking she's got it all together. She's successful at life. She knows what she's doing. I'm a failure, I'm a mess, I can't measure up.  I could watch it happening, but I don't know her nearly well enough to say anything.

No big news or wisdom to impart, because it mainly served to make me think about how often I do that, too. I see someone, and without knowing what's going on in her life or the real details, use her life to prove to myself that I'm a mess, I haven't accomplished anything, I should be doing more/better. 

Probably all of us have been down that rabbit hole every once in awhile.

Let's not do that. Just saying.

TTFN.

(p.s. I took that picture of the owl, can you believe it? Our neighborhood adolescent owls were acting strangely one day last summer when a thunderstorm was approaching.)