About

Who Am I & What Am I Doing?

Granted I hear these questions often. Here are the answers as they pertain to this blog.

First, what's up with those marbles? When I was a wee little one annoying my family with learning the flute, my dad would refer to my practicing as tootling. Now he is not a discerning music aficionado and I was no child prodigy, so it was likely an apt description. When I became a camp counselor and suddenly needed a "camp name," I grabbed on to that random memory and dubbed myself "Tootles."  Thanks to a resurgence in the story of Peter Pan as the film Hook had recently been released, I became associated with the lost boy who lost his marbles. Oh so apt.

I was quite fine with the persona of a Lost Boy, even the Lost Boy who grew up. Just like Tootles in Hook, I found my marbles. Literally. One little girl brought me a small bag and in it was about a dozen marbles. She didn't want me to be without a happy thought.  Now I was probably 17 at the time, so we're looking at a few years since then. Those marbles are still in the little pouch I made that summer so I could carry my happy thoughts around my neck. Now they are kept safely in my nightstand drawer with all my other treasures that are invaluable to me and of no value to the rest of the world.

Pretty much my life is summed up by the ongoing battle to find and organize my marbles. And to keep them together. Sometimes life forces you to toss them in the air and in the midst of starting fresh you find new gems you never noticed.

Since those summers as a camp counselor I have attended college, learned a few things, forgot a few things, learned a few other things the hard way, loved some, lost some, and generally lived a life of more joy than tears and very, very few regrets.

So here I am attempting to find new ways to make my life a bit better so I can be a better person for those around me. Hopefully I will be able to leave this earth, like we were taught to leave our campsites at Girl Scout camp - better than I found it.