Monday Musings

There's a row of trees that sit outside my window. They are my marker for the passage of time. I sit in this space on summer evenings, as I rehydrate after my sunset runs along the East River and admire their lush greenery. I'm embarrassed to admit that as my commitment to physical fitness falls away, as it does every autumn, I spend less time in this tiny reading nook and the next time I truly pause to notice, their branches are barren. I blink and I miss fall. 

For the past eight months I have lived by a single mantra, "one day at a time". So much has changed, so much will again never be the same. For someone who resists any kind of evolution, whether it be good or bad, it has been a challenge. The only solace I have been able to provide myself has been to break it off bit by bit, into small digestible pieces. In some cases, however, it has been the best thing for me. This year time doesn't feel like it's hurdling past me. I have absorbed every second. I paused to listen to the three piece band dressed as the blind mice welcoming trick-or-treaters. I felt the goosebumps on my forearm initiated by the first autumn chill. I've savored every remaining hour of daylight. I've actually watched the leaves change from olive to chartreuse to sandstone. 

So much of this year has been about things happening to us. Decisions that impact us are not our own, we lie at the mercy of others and that's a terrifying place to be. But tomorrow is not another one of those days. 

Tomorrow is perhaps the one day we can't take in its solitude. Tomorrow is a day that could change the course of the future. Tomorrow could be the day we put an end it all. Tomorrow could be the day we restore decency and democracy. Tomorrow could be the day we remember the principles on which this great nation was founded. Tomorrow could be the day we begin to heal, both metaphorically and physically. Tomorrow could be the first day in four years we get to exhale. Tomorrow could change everything. But it cannot change if we do not VOTE!

Vote like your lives depend on it, like your rights depend on it, like the environment depends on it. Because they all do. 

So just tomorrow, instead of merely taking it "one day at a time" let's use that day to change time.