but i have not graduated college...

i have celebrated 22 years of life. i have mastered a song perfectly on the piano. i have looked deep into my soul. i have questioned life. i have raised a child. i have been swimming with dolphins. i am a fashion and style connoisseur. i have auditioned for a broadway show. i have fallen out of a second story window and lived to tell about it. i have won a war. i have counted how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop (366). i have saved a life. i have had my life saved. i have been in the presence of true evil. i have been immersed in unconditional love. i have been swept away by an undertow. i have cheated death. i hate oprah. i have changed a tire by myself. i have learned to pray in 2 different languages. i have converted a democrat. i have been to hell. i have been to heaven. i have been electrocuted. i have visited the statue of liberty. i have climbed a mountain. i have lost a friend. i have discovered the meaning of life, but i forgot to write it down. i have learned to surf. i have read every book ever written about judy garland. i have had a perfect kiss. i have experienced the perfect sunday afternoon. i once made friends with a school of fish. i have won the respect of intelligent people. i have talked to an angel. i have been in over 30 theatrical productions. i have competed in figure skating and won. i have read vogue cover to cover (that actually happens monthly). i write reports on random topics for fun. i have memorized the calorie content of almost every food on the planet. i dont care about content. i once embarked on building a sand castle to the sky but had to stop to go in for dinner. i have loved until i thought i couldnt love anymore (and then found out that love is infinite). i have learned to cook a turkey. i have been at the top of society. and the bottom. children trust me.
...but i have not graduated college.

finding humanity at the laundromat

i headed out to my laundromat this morning in a pretty grouchy mood. i hate doing laundry and having to do it with one hand was not an adventure i wanted to be apart of . i got all settled in at my store-o-washers-and-dryers reminiscent of the 1960's and started to people watch. there were 3 blond little girls dancing around the place with their ipods and belting out random songs ranging from Hannah Montana to Carrie Underwood to the copa cabana. their mom was doing what looked like 4 loads of laundry at once and years of worries and troubles showed very clearly in the deep wrinkles on her 30something face. it was obvious that this little family wasn't in the best of times. but still, the little girls fluttered around sharing the earpieces between the 3 of them, laughing and singing and playing without a care in the world. a little later an older couple came in and set up camp at a set of washers and dryers right next to mine. the man was amused by the little girls and struck up conversation with them, asking them about what they were listening to and asking if they knew music "from his generation". the girls thought that this was hilarious and an immediate friendship was formed. and so i sat, half reading my book, and half watching everyone else. i watched this man (i found out that he was 79) engage with his wife and my whole heart felt a little warmer on this 10 degree Midwestern January day. the two of them laughed and reminisced and played with the little girls and while the woman was sorting her colors from whites, he gave her a kiss on the cheek. i then looked over to the sisters who were still dancing to the beat of the tumbling dryers and sharing their headphones 3 ways and i felt so much love in that little place. sitting for 2 hours listening to the soft rattle of the 1981 Maytag dryers, breathing in the downy-scented air and feeling that perfect, genuine love was a nice break from the bitter cold.

"if you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling that love actually IS, all around."