i'll meet you young and free for a dance 'round the memory tree

Hello, world.

I promise that I'm still alive.
I just haven't been in the mood to write lately.
Like, I have things coming.
I can feel them in my mind and in my heart.

Thoughts from things I've read.
Things I've seen.
Things I've heard.
Things I've felt.

But right now?

It's mostly busywork.
Paperwork.
Red tape.
Preparations.

I sometimes wonder if purgatory is just a long line in a bureaucratic office where you never move. Ever.
A long, never-ending line without phone service or Wi-Fi.
I'm pretty sure that if Dante had known about visa and immigration offices he would have written about it in his Inferno. 
Queues in bureaucratic offices in general.
A special circle of their own.
"Now serving number 83."

I had things I meant to write.
Kind of like a "little lists" kind of write-up.
Just so I would write, really.
Because often beginning is the hardest.
But I forgot all that I wanted to say.
Even though it was very clever in my mind.
But now.
To-do lists fill my head
instead of the things I'd actually like to think about.

But I am alive.

And I get do to things with people I love.
People who remind me that I am more than a brain.

Those reminders are important.
So thank you to all.
Pictured or not.
Thank you for the memories you give me.
Thank you for reminding me of what I am made of.
That I do have a brain
but that I also have a heart.
And a voice.
And a knack for silliness.
Because goodness knows I need people who will let me be silly every once in awhile.
And who encourage it.
And people who love me the way I am
but believe that I can always be better--
and maximize my potential.
Which is so much more than a brain.

*Song of the day: A Dance 'Round the Memory Tree, by Oren Lavie