I’m not one to pay much attention to astrology.  In fact, I hardly ever read my horoscope.  But yesterday, stuck in a small sandwich shop without my school books, I picked up a local rag and turned to my horoscope as the most interesting content available for lunch entertainment.  It said:

In his memoir, radio-talk show host Michael Krasny notes that he is the “inverse of writer Saul Bellow, who said that he was a bird and not a ornithologist.”  Even if you are usually more like Krasny, dear Sagittarian, I suggest  that you be like Bellow in the coming weeks.  In my astrological opinion, you need to be an embodiment of wild nature, not an observer and appreciator of wild nature.  It’s time for you to be a geyser, not an architect who critiques fountains; a bonfire, not a candle-gazer; a horse, not a gambler who bets on the ponies.

Wow.  For a woman whose alter-ego is the Magpie, hearing “be the bird” is eerie.  But I think I know exactly what this little “random” message from the universe means.

In case you don’t see the trend in my recent posts, I’ve been doing an awful lot of naval-gazing lately.  Perhaps it’s a phase; perhaps it’s a symptom of too much time spent in the classroom in a psychology program for the last three years.  It’s easy in an academic environment to live your life inside your head.  (Something I’ve always said I have a tendency to do anyway.)  But it seems that somewhere along the way, I’ve stopped living life and spent all my time thinking about life.

So I’m going to be the Magpie.  (Come May 7, of course.)  What does this mean (in no particular order)?

1.  I’m going to go for long walks.  Not runs, although I plan to do that as well.  I’m talking about strolls.  To see, to breathe in the Mayberry air, to luxuriate in the sunset.

2.  I’m going to learn Photoshop.  Maybe the results will be worth sharing on MayberryMagpie.com.

3.  I’m going to garden.  Specifically, I’m going plant herbs in my backyard and flowers in my front yard.

4.  I’m going to paint my upstairs bathroom.  I need help with a color, though.  More on that later. 

5.  I’m going to create an outdoor oasis on my front porch, starting with my new furniture, but also including an outdoor rug, some flowers and plants, some candles, and anything else that strikes my fancy to create my outdoor room.  I talked to my friend Julie yesterday, who said she’d be delighted to spend summer evenings with me drinking wine on my front porch.  To anyone else in Mayberry who’s reading, I’ll hope you’ll stroll by and join us.

6.  I’m going to play tennis.  I suck at it and I haven’t played in three years because of school, but I’m going to start playing terribly again.  Besides, it’s a great way to spend time with Mr. Mom.

7.  I’m going to spend time with Mr. Mom.  It might surprise him to hear me say this, but I miss him.  Immensely.  We started out 25 years ago as friends.  The first three years of our relationship was spent mostly on the phone, for hours at time, discussing every topic under the sun. He’s still the best listener I know.  (Every talker needs a listener, right?)  But I hope to spend some time listening to him, catching up on every thing I’ve missed or tuned out in the last three years (except what can be transmitted in 11-minute increments).

8.  I’m going to spend time with Kate and Parker.  I don’t have a clue what we’re going to do; we’re all so used to me being gone or distracted on evenings and weekends, but I feel certain we’ll come up with something.  Maybe we’ll play Guitar Hero together. Maybe we’ll play tennis. Maybe we’ll cook together.

9.  I’m going to cook.  Evil Chef Mom, I’ll be trying your recipes rather than just salivating over them.

10.  I’m going to sew.  I no longer have a machine, but I’m going to have to buy one.  I used to love to sew and there’s so many crafty things involved with fabric and thread I long to do.  Who knows, maybe Mayberry Magpie will become a craft blog.  (Just kidding!)

In short, I’m going to stop dreaming and start doing.  Oh, I know myself well enough to know I’ll still pause to naval-gaze now and then.  I can’t help myself.  But at least for a while, I’m going to turn my brain off and turn my heart on.  And live, live, live, live in every moment, every breath, every mile, every moment I can possibly grab.

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P.S.  I also have a post-graduation resolution. I’m going to single-task. I’ve been mutli-tasking for 18 hours a day for three years.  Maybe at the office I’ll have to keep that juggling thing up, but at home?  One. Thing. At. A. Time.