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Year Three, Day 356: Bus Talk and Precious Moments

Another day of feeling human! I slept quite deeply last night.  Woke up bright and early, but not early enough to hoop.  I may have to skip my hoop workout today.

I got packed and ran out to catch the bus. I was almost at the bus stop, when I saw the #34 appear on the top of the hill. I was hoping it would stop at the stop before mine, so as to give me enough time to jog to my stop.

No such luck. It was quickly approaching. So I turned around and wave frantically.  The driver, one of my regular drivers, pointed to the sidewalk near the bus stop.  He pulled over and stopped.

"Thank you for stopping", I panted. I was quite out of breath. But at least I was not wheezing or coughing!

"You're welcome", he said. "I was pointing to the curb because it is not safe for me to stop in the middle of the road".

"At least you stopped!" I said smiling.

"Yes, I could have just waved and kept driving", he smiled back. 

"But I'm sure you would have at least smiled!" I said in reply.

We both chuckled.

Then we started talking about how we have trouble sleeping. He told me he is 54 years old. He has been an early riser his whole life, but the last several years it has been increasingly difficult to get out of bed.

"I don't have the motivation I used to", he said.

"I don't have the energy I used to", said I.

It was nice to talk with a kindred spirit.  Soon the passengers on either side of me were chatting about sleep. I mentioned that I have a new system. Instead of checking email, watching, television and playing Words with Friends at night (simultaneously, I might add!), I unplug.  Then I use Words with Friends as a way to wake my brain up in the morning.

The driver said he too used online games to wake his mind up!

Somehow we got on the subject of unkind people. The young woman to my left confided that she was on her way to work at a large chain store. And she was so tired, not in the mood for "rude" customers.

She shared some stories with us.  The man on my right shook his head.

We shared a look.

"Life is so short", I said.  "There is no time for unkindness!"

Soon our bus talk came to an end as we reached the end of the line. The man on my right was heading to the elevator. We stood and talked some more.  He was leaning on a cane. The elevator never arrived. So we chatted as we hobbled up the stairs.

"I have bad knees", he said sheepishly.

"I'm just sore!", said I, readjusting my pack.

We reached the Max and he wished me a pleasant day.

I sat down and looked out the window. It was overcast, but mild.

I silently thanked God for these little pleasant encounters.  And I opened up Words with Friends to keep me company on my long bus ride to Vancouver to watch my grandbaby.

She brings me such joy. And the people who tell us to treasure these moments, because in the blink of an eye, she will be grown up, are right. She will be 8 months old tomorrow.

She is communicating, interacting, observing the world and changing every moment.

I am so thankful that I am part of this little girl's life.

I may not have time to blog any more today.  After my visit with Gracie, I have to bus it back to Portland and teach piano classes.

It is so good to feel my health improve. To feel awake. Because I do not want to miss a moment of this life!


Talk to you tomorrow!

Love,

Zita






P.S. No hoop video today. Will post one tomorrow!

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