The Burrow

I just made my huge list of things to do today. Last day for BOGO at Payless, get to SASS for camp and distribute EVYS fliers in Tempe, paint kitchen cabinets, take Tab's baptism picture, take back party stuff, get groats from Walton's, etc. I then checked my e-mail and was going through it, deleting old ones, when I can across this poem sent to me by Ellie's friend Savanah, which I had never actually read. It was written by a girl with terminal cancer. My timing for reading it couldn't have been more perfect.

SLOW DANCE

Have you ever watched kids on a merry-go-round?
Or listened to the rain slapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight?
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
You better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask How are you? Do you hear the reply?
When the day is done do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your head?
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

Ever told your child, We'll do it tomorrow?
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch, let a good friendship die
Cause you never had time to call and say,'Hi'
You'd better slow down.
Don't dance so fast.
Time is short.
The music won't last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere
You miss half the fun of getting there.
When you worry and hurry through your day,
It is like an unopened gift....
Thrown away.
Life is not a race.
Do take it slower.
Hear the music before the song is over.

This was a good reminder for me as I start the summer. So many times I envision my summer as me getting so much done. The past few years I have chucked that idea out the window and just tried to make it all about the kids. Today I started off on not quite so good a path. This was a good reminder to take it slow. Happy Summer!