IN THE MOMENT

Maybe the reason I fall so much is that I don’t pick up my feet. Another reason might be my brain. It is mouse-sized, you know.

This morning I made a resolution to pay attention to whatever it is that I’m doing. If I’m taking my vitamins, I will not simultaneously think about what story I’m going to write next, listen to the news on the TV in the next room, and plan my next vacation.

And there’s another problem. (“Just one?” Maggie asked. What a biting comment! Ignore her.) I noticed a few months ago (and am just now facing it) that swallowing pills has gotten difficult. It involves thinking carefully about how to hold my tongue. Or I choke.

Paying attention might be a good idea. This morning, as I was hanging up my bathrobe, I was thinking – and thinking really hard – about being present in the moment, which was hanging up my bathrobe. After that I carefully walked – still thinking about how I wasn’t supposed to think of more than one thing at a time – to the bathroom. I thought so hard about walking that I hit my toe on the chair. Twice. Yes, it’s the same chair I pass several times a day. I’m just glad it wasn’t the toe I hurt when I fell yesterday.

This has to end. The older I get, the more breakable I get.