Counting To 10

When I get angry or frustrated with my governor, my country or at the world these days I do something my parents suggested way back when… I pause…I take a deep breath…and then I count to 10. When we parked the car at the beach 1 moon was hovering in the air. A quick look in both directions told me we were the only 2 people there. The moonlight illuminated everything but 3 stars were still visible in the sky… Bathed in that same moonlight 4 dolphins came frolicking by. I counted 5 different sandcastles…abandoned…decaying gradually I saw 6 pelicans in formation gliding just above the sea. As we turned around and headed back I counted 7 fisherman who hadn't been there before. While 8 tiny sandpipers hunting for breakfast scurried along the shore. In the final leg or our walk 9 palm trees I detected… and when I looked into our bag…10 sea shells we'd collected. My parents knew what would happen when they suggested it way back when… How it would take me a little while to count from 1 to 10. A pleasant little interruption…a few moments to allow my mind to stray… A wonderful distraction from the problems of the day. No…the world didn't change in the time it took me to count from 1 to 10… but that wonderful distraction did give me more energy… to enter the fray again.