Reverie Machine

Dibs Plus

If you see an attractive girl and you want to call dibs on her, feel free to do so. But remember, if she is clearly underage, it’s critical that you affix the number of years you’d wait before acting upon said dibs.

Example: Miley Cyrus is just 17, so she is a ‘dibs plus one.’
Example: Dakota Fanning is a mere 15 years old. She is a ‘dibs plus three.’

You have to grow old, before you can feel young again.

In less than an hour, I turn 25. And from what I can tell, going a quarter of a century is no difficult task, but going twice as long will be. I feel the aches of age now—but I’ve hardly dealt with the pains of maturity.

It’s hard to express what this coming year will, or should, mean. It’s impossible to fathom what the next revolution around the sun will bring…where I’ll be when I turn 26. Yet I know that I’m as close as ever to becoming what I’m meant to become, what I’ve worked to become, and I still have no answers to those questions of inevitability and fate.

When I decided to become a writer, just a couple of years ago, I’d no idea that I would actually become one. And looking back on the past six months, I can indubitably say that I haven’t grown as one. I’ve swum in circles, perpetually smaller circles, and now tread aimlessly, seaweed wrapping around my ankles and inching me closer to unmoving static nothingness.

But that’s not the way it should be. I should be racing, powering through the muck, breathing heavy and swallowing saline with every stroke. I should be kicking, coughing, sucking in air as if there is just one heave left before I’m pulled beneath the waves.

I may be just old enough to begin feeling young again. I could be just far enough upstream to right my course. Just close enough to feel the warmth of the surface; the heat emanating off the shore; the sultry smell of sand and rock and grass. 

I am just old enough to remember why I jumped in this pool to begin with. And because of that, I am strong enough to establish myself as the persistent, unwavering swimmer I once was.

25 can be a very good thing, for me.

A Mayonnaise Jar & Two Beers…

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. 

When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. 

He then asked the students if the jar was full. 

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. 

The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. 

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. 

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. 

Of course, the sand filled up everything else. 

He asked once more if the jar was full.. 

The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. 

The students laughed.

‘Now,’ said the professor as the laughter subsided, ‘I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. 

The golf balls are the important things—-your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions—-and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.

The sand is everything else—-the small stuff. 

‘If you put the sand into the jar first,’ he continued, ‘there is no room for the pebbles or
golf balls. 

The same goes for life. 

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. 

Spend time with your children. 

Spend time with your parents. 

Visit with grandparents. 

Take time to get medical checkups. 

Take your spouse out to dinner. 

Play another 18. 

There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. 

Take care of the golf balls first—-the things that really matter. 

Set your priorities. 

The rest is just sand. 

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. 

The professor smiled and said, ‘I’m glad you asked.’

The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.