What If The Hokey Pokey IS Really What It's All About?

Weather-wise, today is horrible where I live, and I find myself dreaming of Hawaii and this particular gorgeous beach. We've been having 45 to 50 mph wind gusts all afternoon. Step outside and you just might find yourself swept up, carried away, then dropped somewhere in the next county. But I have the perfect thing to wash the grit from my teeth. Champagne! I found a very nice bottle of it in a box on my doorstep, sent to me by my publisher to congratulate me on my Rita nomination! Definitely makes the wind a bit easier to take.! This is what it's all about about -- one of those feel-good moments in life that should be cherished despite winds blustery enough to blow you over the rainbow, writer's block, a messy office or any other such malady.

Speaking of what it's all about, I had a phone conversation with my youngest son recently that reminded me of when I was twenty and confused about what to do with my life. Not too long ago, I had the same conversation with his older brother. I guess most of us go through that stage of being afraid of making the wrong choices and becoming a little paralyzed because of it. As mothers will sometimes, I caught myself lecturing about finding balance and direction and all that good advice that's easy to give but not so easy to follow. Later that day, stopped in traffic at a red light, I read a bumper sticker on a car in front of me that said: What If The Hokey Pokey IS Really What It's All About? Wouldn't that be a kicker? All this time we spend trying to pinpoint the perfect college major, perfect job, perfect book idea, perfect get-rich-quick scheme that's going to bring us perfect happiness, when a little Hokey Pokey jig once a day is really all we need to do in order to be happy!

I've done the Hokey Pokey a few times over the course of my life -- usually in a roller rink wearing skates before I was thirteen. I can't remember ever being unhappy while doing it, either. In my experience, doing the Hokey Pokey is good exercise, good for a few laughs, good for the soul. I'm thinking about calling both my sons and telling them to forget my lectures. Instead, I want them to stand up, take a deep breath and do the Hokey Pokey, then see what comes of it. Sounds like a good way to clear the mind of a lot of worry so it can focus, instead, on the little things that make a life truly successful, fulfilling and enjoyable. Perfect happiness. Could it really be that easy? Put your right foot in, put your right foot out, put your right foot in and shake it all about, do the Hokey Pokey and turn yourself around, that's what it's all about...

After I catch my breath, I think a little champagne's in order. Hokey pokey and celebratory champagne. Feel good moments. That's what it's all about.

Cheers!