when I was a kid I loved the movie Willy Wonka

I can envision the whole thing

charlie’s dank apartment which I always imagined smelled of potatoes

Wonka’s purple velvet suit

the lickable wallpaper

Augustus, Violet, Veruca, Mike TeeVee, Charlie

an unfortunate swim

a giant blueberry

a bad egg

a shrinking boy

charlie and grandpa burping their way down from the knifelike ceiling fan

but the scene that stands out the most will always be the SS Wonkatania (thanks google) scene

one minute they were in a festive little boat on a lazy river made of chocolate the next in a tunnel of sheer terror

I feel like my early 50s were like that

I had cracked the code on all the things

business, motherhood, community, life

so much promise on the horizon

and then covid and then freefall

and it took so much longer than expected

to find my footing

can you relate?

we’re promised the lazy river

but the lazy river doesn’t exist

what if instead you expected a roller coaster?

how much better would life be

if you expected the tik tik tik tik of up

the blood curdling dips of down

racing into turns

loop de loops

amazing – what a ride you’d say!!

instead of what the f*ck is happening?!!!

things can go wrong and you can still be ok

or happen with no regard for your timeline

and not according to plan

and you could even enjoy the thrill of it

things are always working

enjoying the ride is optional

I highly recommend it