When You’re Spinning

Sometimes we are spinning out of control and don’t even know it.  On Monday I took my big girls to the park (because winter is never coming to Georgia) and despite the plethera of expensive slides and monkey bars and rock climbing walls, all they wanted to play on was the Merry Go Round.  Probably the same one that’s been in parks since I was a kid.

Around and around they went.  Them and the other five kids who were there.  “Faster, faster!” Shrieked Madelynne.  “Slower, slower!”  Echoed Annabelle.  Can you tell how they are different?

They seemed in perfect control.  They would jump off and take turns spinning and jump back on.  They would lean over the bars and lift up their legs and make mommy holler, “DON’T DO THAT!”  They were happy as can be, wind in their hair, flying through the air.  Unrestrained.

Then I made them get off and stumble to the car so we could go home and start supper and on the way home Madelynne threw up in a McDonald’s bag.

“At least I had something to catch it in,” she says mournfully collapsing on the living room floor because she was way too muddy for furniture.

And I thought, what a picture of life.  Sometimes we’re spinning way too fast and way too much.  We feel like we’re in control, enjoying the ride, laughing.

Then we lose that momentum and everything catches up to us and suddenly we don’t feel so good anymore.  And I remember, that’s why we should slow down.

Just slow.  Just watch.  Just breathe.

Enjoy the ride but know when to get off.