Slow Down...Life's Too Short

Monday after work, I hopped in a cab to go home. Since we were at a concert on Sunday night and I was still feeling the repercussions of sleeping less than 6 hours and drinking enough wine the night before to put Robert Mondavi to shame, I treated myself with a ride home.

We were about 2 blocks from my work traveling on the very busy Magnificent Mile when a girl ran across the street trying to beat the light before it turned green. As I sat in my stuffy cab trying to decipher my cab driver’s Jamaican dialect, I saw this young woman get hit by a car. Thankfully, she did not look seriously hurt. I could see her leg was slightly injured, but she was standing up and talking to people…glaring at the car that hit her. Everyday I see people trying to beat the light, sprint to the train, take the fastest elevator. I get it…I’ve done the same, but is it so worth risking your life?

Last night, Kevin and I went to a concert at a pretty small venue in Chicago. We saw Amos Lee, and it was pretty unbelievable. I could almost reach out and touch him. After our long drawn out weekend with family in town, a concert on a Monday night did not sound like the best option in the world. But once we got there, we became transfixed on Amos Lee. The man knows how to sing. For 2 hours, we stood in one place and listened to the soothing tunes of Amos and his band. For those 2 hours, I did not want to be anywhere else. Even on a Monday night. We haven't been out and listened to "new" music that not everyone has heard of in a long time.

This summer has been about slowing down, and trying to appreciate the good things and what I do have. It has not always been easy. I can not always turn off the pain in my mind and heart like I’d like to. I can not snap my fingers and have everything in life that I would like. But if I have learned anything these past few months, it is that life is so precious. That nothing is worth launching your own self across Michigan Avenue during rush hour to make any train, dinner date or spinning class. It is about slowing down, and spending time with family and friends and just being in the moment.