“You like roller coasters?”

Oh, yeah!

“Well, if you like roller coasters,” the flight agent said, “you’ll love this. I hate flying in planes, but I’ll take a helicopter anywhere.”

We walked the damp earth onto a makeshift helipad to board the helicopter. The soil heaved mossy sighs of heat. We weren’t in Dallas anymore.

We were giddy. We both felt spoiled for being able to get away to a tropical island for our anniversary. I was a stay-at-home mother masquerading as a jet-setter, and my husband was Bond. James Bond. (But faithful.)

Is it me, or is time flying like a rocket with eternal fuel to burn in space? It seems like it was January 2011 just yesterday, and today we are counting fewer than two months to a new year. I can’t help but wonder if I have been as productive as I proudly resolved to be at the beginning of the new year. I guess a few more weeks will point to where I stand, and I promise to thank the Lord no matter how unflattering the truth may be.

The third Thursday in the month of November is always dedicated in the United States of America to giving thanks to God. Many celebrate it with their immediate and extended families, some with friends, some by themselves, and a few are indifferent. How do you celebrate it? Is it a lifestyle or just an annual gorging on turkey and pumpkin pie?

It was a hot Saturday afternoon with the sun doing a harsh number on my skin and my mind trying to seek refuge in something cold or sweet. It was at this junction of decision that the smell of pizza gently filtered into my nose.  “Hmmn, that pizza smells so good; can we stop and have a slice I asked?”  My fourteen year old son looked at me in disbelief. “Control mommy, control” he whispered in my ears. Although he was right on the money with the emphasis he placed on the word “control”, I bullied him into immediate silence by letting him know that “this hungry mom is an angry mom that can change her mind about taking him shopping.”

By May Olusola

Time is fleeting and tomorrow is not guaranteed so what we do today for a loved one may be the only thing that matters. I used to put off what could be done today until the unexpected happened and shattered my system of taking things for granted. The realization of my expensive mistake has prompted my decision to write this article to divert people from stumbling on the same lesson I learnt in a painful way.