Saturday, January 31, 2009

I don't always feel lucky, but I'm smart enough to try.



I don't think it's much of a secret to anyone who knows me even in passing that I'm almost always up for some Ani DiFranco tuneage. I particularly haven't been able to get this "song"/poem out of my head after a notably difficult week of co-occurring illness and the worst ice-storm to hit my area in recent memory. Our electricity and heat were out for days on end, and in the end we have a fridge + two freezers of spoiled food (a wasteful hassle for us rather than a deep financial blow, blessedly), a damaged roof (relatively minor, but stressful nonetheless) and a devastated yard full of century-old oak trees (deeply heartbreaking beyond what I would have expected).

I've been very lucky. This storm has claimed dozens of lives. My household and I -- and my local family and friends -- are safe, sound and, all told, only minimally scathed. Now, I've been known to take myself too seriously on more than a few occasions, but the accumulated weight of dealing with all this while trying to keep on living my life conscientiously has gotten a little heavy, and I found myself seeking out some reference points to make it all feel manageable once again. Enter Miz D.


Another favorite.

"I'm cradling the hardest, heaviest part of me in my hand
The ship is pitching and heaving, my limbs are bobbing and weaving
And I think this is something I understand
I just need a couple vaccinations for my far-away vacation
I'm going to go ahead and go boldly because a little bird told me
That jumping is easy, that falling is fun
Right up 'til you hit the sidewalk, shivering and stunned"
- Ani DiFranco "Swandive," Little Plastic Castle