Hula Hoop

It's not easy to find a Hula Hoop in New York City. This week, it took thirteen places--thirteen!!--before my daughter and I finally located one. Apparently, what used to be an integral part of summer is not any more. One of the simplest and most entertaining exercises out there (not that I was ever particularly good at it) has been replaced by disks for throwing, and balls for catching, and more versions of "bubble stuff" than you can possibly imagine.

While our Hula Hoop odyssey was finally a success, it was a reminder that sometimes, it is the seemingly easy stuff that is often the hardest. We are used to working hard for what we want to accomplish. We are used to being ambitious and creative, to staying clever and persistent in going after our goals. But we like to believe that there are pieces of life that we can count on--take for granted. We like to believe that we don't have to fight for every piece of life--just the especially significant pieces.

This week, the mysterious scarcity of the Hula Hoop kept us on our toes when we thought we would be kicking back. This week, accomplishing a little thing required the kind of persistence normally reserved for the big things. And I guess sometimes, that's just how life is--we have to look past the shiny bubbles to what we really want. We have to keep walking, even when all we really want to do is put our feet up.

And the world keeps spinning. Just like that elusive Hula Hoop.