Life, in any language, has its ups and downs, its sweet satisfaction and those days when, well, the cookie is just bound to crumble
It’s a good life … or, from the movie Oliver!, “It’s A Fine Life” (a very fine life!). Yes, I’ve taken to incorporating song titles as befits the idiom. Another of my favourites (and this one dates me) from my childhood days is “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)”; and I had so much fun sharing the song “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” (from my last column) with our 13-year-old granddaughter, Taya. And you know what? I think she really loved it.
Well, it really is a good life. At least, most of the time. And cookies are one of the best parts of life … everyone knows that. But have you ever seen a child bite into a cookie that crumbles? It’s the saddest thing to witness, second only to watching them let go of a helium balloon and listening to their plaintive cry as it disappears. Or, seeing their joy when they are handed an ice cream cone and then watching as that joy turns to despair when the ice cream falls off of the cone. Yes, there is an art to serving (and eating) ice cream cones! And, on hot days, you learn to lick them fast! One of the hottest days that I recall with our children was in Dawson City. It was a cooker, and we were definitely up to the challenge of savouring every last bit of our ice cream cones.
Ah, if only life could always be so sweet. But we all know that there will be days when the cookie crumbles; days when things won’t be so sweet and we just need to deal with it.
That’s the way the cookie crumbles; that’s just how it goes sometimes when things just aren’t going your way. That’s life.
When your workday is overwhelming, when the dog chases a squirrel and you chase the dog, when the fish doesn’t bite (worse yet, Wade Holmes, when the fish does bite but you forgot your net), when the bread doesn’t rise or the Jell-O salad doesn’t set, when you lose the race or skin your knee. When disappointment settles in. Or when that call doesn’t come … the one you have been waiting for with great anticipation. Disappointment.
When life lets you down … well, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.
I wish I could tell you that it won’t happen, but most of you—who are old enough, obviously, to be reading this—already know this sad truth of life. But, by now, most of you have also learned the lesson that “This too shall pass”: there will be great days at work, the dog will come home, the fish will bite and there will be warm bread, fresh out of the oven and smothered in butter. The Jell-O salad will gel to perfection and you’ll realize that the race is about so much more than winning (and your knee will heal). And that call … or another that you’ve been waiting for … it will come.
Yep, even when disappointment settles in, life goes on and you will be even stronger … and perhaps the next cookie(s) will not crumble.
So, even when the cookie crumbles, please remember that life can be a dream, sweetheart!Have a listen to “Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream)” at https://youtu.be/jEP224Sa4Rw
