The One Where Lucy and Ethel Can't Keep Up with the Chocolates on the Conveyor Belt
This morning at church, we started off with a clip of the "I Love Lucy" episode where Lucy and Ethel are working in a chocolate factory and end up stuffing chocolates in their mouths, under their hats, and down their shirts as fast as they can because they can't keep up.

What an apt visual for how life feels sometimes: No matter how fast we keep stuffing chocolates in our mouths, the conveyor belt keeps speeding up and we keep falling behind. And even when life is going well—all sweet and gooey and satisfying—try to cram in too much too fast, and you'll start feeling queasy.

And that's how I feel with this blog, this website...life in general. Don't get me wrong: I'm sooo grateful for all the wonderful people and activities that fill my life! I'm grateful for all the ways I can still participate in an active life, and I'm privileged to have such a loving and helpful family who do everything in their power to make my life easier. Indeed, my life is terrific…so terrific I can’t possibly keep up.

I am guilt-ridden at all the emails that go unanswered for weeks (uh, months?) at a time and the ridiculous number of days that pass between updates to this blog. All my good intentions of getting caught up by the weekend—any weekend—will surely put me on the fast track to…well, let’s not think about that, huh?

But one thing became crystal clear to me today as I thought about that episode of “Lucy”: When I was first diagnosed with ALS, the conveyor belt of my life looked bleak and empty. But almost three years later, my belt is overflowing with so much chocolate I will never catch up. The best I can hope for is that I’m able to enjoy as many exquisite pieces as possible with my family and friends, and that they will carry those precious morsels of memory with them forever.