Stating the Obvious

Ever since I was a young girl, I've reviewed my day prior to falling asleep at night. Often, I've ended up with a stomach ache for you see I didn't observe the activities by picking out the positive, but instead, sought only the negatives. And now, I understand. Seek the positive, pray for more solutions to the negatives, and let go of the past. Immerse yourself in the present.

I discovered "gliding" while making my way through the crowded Fulton Station a few weeks ago. Getting off the A train and reaching the 2, 3 trains means winding past a huge mass of people frantically rushing in the opposite direction for the 4, 5, and 6 trains. One morning during this excursion, I found my feet moving in gliding sweeps of efficiency. I'm gliding, I thought, and then I understood what my grandfather must have experienced as a glider pilot.

Viola! Glide through life!

That's when I knew I had the second half of my title for my mother's and my memoir. Grateful, I shot up the stairs! "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I said.

Pepto Bismol be gone.

This morning I wrote three pages of "Jumping Off a Cliff with My Mother: Learning to Glide." And with each stroke of my pen, I did just that.