Flexibility

Recently, while traveling through Northern California, we came to a standstill in Friday traffic leaving Santa Cruz. My husband suggested that since we weren't going anywhere, anyways, that we might as well stop for dinner. I looked up at the green board that listed the next three destinations, "Capitola," I cried, "I have always wanted to see Capitola." We veered off the freeway and found Capitola to be a beautiful beach community but lacking a restaurant that appealed to us from the windows of our car. By now traffic had cleared a bit and we traveled on taking a shortcut through Castroville. Castroville appeared to be the artichoke growing capital of California and appeared to have the flavor of a little town in Mexico. Hence, we stopped at Arnaldo's, for a little Mexican cuisine.--Where we discovered a delicious artichoke heart appetizer. We also rediscovered what all good travelers know---Flexibility and spontaneity are the keys to a joyful travel experience.

Which led me back to this visual image that I keep in my favorite photo brain file.

The girl in the tan pants with a purple belt, Breanne, exudes the idea of flexibility, both literally and figuratively. The photo is a peak through the fence slat at girl's camp: a five day retreat into the wilderness--cabins, campfires, canoeing. The girls are competing in a fire building competition and they won.

Breanne is a dancer which gives her the flexibility to bend over the fire ring. But her position is only the fruit of her enthusiastic engagement.

So, when I think of flexibility: traveling, motherhood, relationships, life in general; I think of Breanne in her fire ring plie.( Can't figure how to add the French accent on plie, but of course you don't mind because you too are inspired by her position to be flexible).