I is for Imagine that…

My weekend was packed with sundry events of note. For starters, on Friday afternoon at work, I took the elevator and made small talk with the other passenger – a complete stranger. He told me that he was throwing a party that night. I told him to have fun.

That night, I donned a red dress and met up with my friends Joy Beth and Julie to go to a cocktail party that Joy Beth had heard about. We arrived, and the guy from the elevator was hosting it. Imagine that.

My friend Kristen flew in from Seattle, and we drove down to Chattanooga on Saturday for a bridal shower. As we drove over the mountains, we talked about what it might be like if the brakes on my 18-year old Honda were to fail. We searched for runaway truck ramps, and pictured ourselves actually utilizing one. I am the queen of hypothetical situations – blame it on the fact that I am a planner and, generally, a pessimistic projector, always imagining the worst-case-scenario, no matter how outrageous – and so now I know where to find every runaway truck ramp on Lookout Mountain. Just in case – imagine that.

I left Kristen in the ‘Noog, and on my way back to Nashville on Sunday, I stopped to hike a portion of the Fiery Gizzard trail. It felt like Church in the Woods; I walked and climbed and prayed and sang and listened. I also imagined myself slipping off the trail and careening down an embankment to the creek below, breaking both ankles and having to crawl back to civilization, stopping only to check for non-existent cell phone service. It didn’t happen. But WHAT IF IT DID? It’s good to think through one’s options and wilderness survival plan, so imagine that. Not that I have any survival skills. I don’t even have a Swiss Army Knife.

The weekend wrapped up with some late-night laundry at Josh’s house, while watching “Young at Heart” with him and Meg. If you haven’t seen this movie, do. Just do. It will make your spirit glad – you will laugh, and cry, and grin unreservedly. In a culture that so emphasizes youth and beauty and glamour, to have old people singing and dancing their way straight into your heart… imagine that.