THE CACTUS

Mark just said it was a matter of time until the thing came crashing down. This morning, he was right. I awoke, opened the shutters like every other morning, and BAM! There it was. The cactus. Lying there in the middle of the street. Shattered open like humpty dumpty when he fell off his wall. 

We go for various runs, bike ride, and stroller cruises on any given day. We always walk down the street with the cactus. Mark ALWAYS ALWAYS goes out of his way to steer himself and the stroller (with Lulu intact) way way FAR around the cactus. For fear that it might come crashing down upon us one day. Every single time. I am telling you with no exaggeration that he does this every single day. Going from one side of the street to the complete other, just to make sure the cactus does not fall mid walk/run/bike ride. And of course I am always behind saying, "What in the world are you doing?" Or "Oh you and that cactus." Or, "Mark, are you serious? Like that thing is really going to fall." And then BAM, this morning, or sometime in the middle of the night the thing FELL DOWN. Roots and all. The entire cactus. Strewn across the asphalt, splattered open. Just like that. I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when I saw it. Mark was rather in awe when I told him, except of course all he had to say was, "I knew it." And, "It was just a matter of time." 

For those of you who haven't caught up yet, the cactus is not only an actual event that occurred in my life, but also a very appropriate metaphor for my life. This leaning impending doom that was bound to explode upon my life at some point. And some point soon. Mark was right, it was only a matter of time.

 Always trying to steer clear of the cactus in order to avoid it and the mess it could bestow upon our lives. The cleanup that would incur for days possibly weeks after the fall. 

But it had to fall eventually. And I for one am glad that it did. It finally fell and now we can all move on. No more altering my path in fear of the towering shadow it cast. No more wondering when the thing would finally turn on us and perhaps crush us while innocently strolling  by. The cactus had become a part of our everyday life, but not necessarily one that was welcomed. Rather, a situation that was ever nagging. Always controlling the road. Now the cactus is gone, along with all the emotions. Goodbye cactus. You will not be missed.