Keep in the Middle!

There's some road construction going on near our home. I loaded the suburban up with kids last night to take my son and his friends to scouts and I was confronted with these road signs. 

What are they doing to me here? 

Keep Right?

Keep Left?

They're lucky I didn't take out their whole row of orange striped things (are those still called cones? It looks like they already squished them flat so we don't have to). 

How about....

Keep in the Middle

I need simple instructions here, people. There's so much nonsense going on in this noggin' of mine. I don't have time for your Road Construction Sign Tricks. 

Sheesh. 

And isn't that just the way life is? Isn't there always someone shouting out what you should be doing?  "Keep Left!" Only to have someone else come along and shout, "NO! NO! NO! KEEP RIGHT!"

You're left to wonder which direction to take until you figure out that middle is the logical place or you simply run over the cone things and get on with your day. 

And sometimes the voices come from inside of me. Whatever I'm doing, I'm usually thinking I of what I should be doing instead or what I need to do next.

If I'm sewing I think I should be working on my book. If I'm playing with the kids, I'll think about how I need to get started on dinner or make a path through the messy living room. If I'm writing I feel like I should shut the laptop and go find a little one to play with. And when I'm reading....wait. Nope. *When I'm reading I don't think I should be doing anything else. 

We're always hearing that dang quote (said in a sugary sweet voice) "Live in the moment." 

And I'm trying but, you know, it's funny....if we truly lived in the moment without a thought for the next....what would happen next? We'd get to that moment where we need to get dinner started and we wouldn't have thought a jot about what we're making. And we'd stand there living in the moment where our children run around hungry and our husband comes home hungry and we're hungry so we order pizza. 

So, I think I do need to enjoy the moments more....whatever moment I'm in and not always thinking about what I should be doing instead, but I also have to allow myself to think about the future and the other things that need to be done. And not always beat myself up about not fully enjoying every single moment.

Otherwise we'd be like guys. I think they're very good at living in the moment. That's why they never know what to make for dinner. They haven't ever though about it.

*This is a humongous lie since most of my reading is done after I've run away to the bathroom and locked the door. Little footsteps find their way to my fortress of solitude and began their plans on overtaking my peace. As I race through the book, trying to will myself to Just Put The Book Down, pleas and cries come through my not-nearly-thick enough door. Eventually I force the book out of my hands and return to the natives and once more take up my reign as The Queen Who Must Be Asked A Zillion Questions.