Picture this. A slot machine. You pull the handle and the reels spin. If you are lucky all the tiles match up and you win a prize. But 9 times out of ten the tiles are mixed matched and you get to try again. Now there are those machines that have some sort of crazy trick to them that if you land on a certain tile, the reel will just spin and spin and spin until you win something.

My mind is a slot machine composed of moments from the past, random conversations, sounds from the world around me and whatever function I am trying to accomplish at the moment. My mind spins and 9 times out of ten the tiles are not matching up. It's hard to focus on what's at hand, remember what just happened and think about what the next step is. The reels just spin and spin and spin. It makes me dizzy, confused and frustrated.

Today I flashed back to different moments in my life. Really random moments that meant nothing at the time and still have no significant meaning now (well, the first one anyway). I just remember the feeling of being there and the sounds of the area. I have no idea what happened at any other point during this day, just this one moment. The first was in Sacramento, California. Walking outside of a shopping center across from the 'Sunrise Mall'. I can see every little detail of the area as if I were there, the smell of food drifting in the air from the Elephant Bar, people driving too fast through the parking lot, kids skateboarding by the movie theater. Just an oridnary day.

The next was shortly after I returned to work when my first son was born. I was a long day and I had made it home just in time to put him to bed for the night. He had already eaten, had a bath and was just about to lay in his bed. I snuggled with him in the rocker, sang him a little song I made up and put him to bed. I had felt bad because I wasn't there for the day but he seemed so content that I was there at that moment. For him restlessness turned into peace and for me, well, he just made every bad moment of my day fade away.