Speedy = Smart

Three weeks ago I decided what to send my mom for her birthday. But I never bought it, even though I really wanted her to get it on her birthday and for her to have something to open, not just a phone call telling her about it.

Monday was the last day possible day I could make this goal. I didn’t wake up until noon, so I had to rush to shower, set up an account online with FedEx, buy the gift certificate, get a card and FedEx it by 3 p.m. Actually, I needed to send it by 2:30 so I’d have time to go to a nearby bakery to get a latte and cheese-filled brioche for dinner.

I made it to the Fed Ex drop box at 2:15, but still feeling rushed, I parked and walked to the box on high speed, then turned around and sped back to the car.

As I drove away, a woman who had been sitting in her car, which faced the sidewalk I charged down moments before, hopped out of her car and waved her arms at me, indicating that I should stop. She came to my window and said that she was a teacher. She then told me that in her 30+ years of teaching, her most intelligent students were the ones who walked quickly. Thus, I must be very intelligent and she admired my purposeful walk.

I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I was so amped up from my new meds that I couldn’t do anything fast enough to quell my energy. I was all but bouncing off the walls.

In any case, it was very kind of her, but also one of those strange moments that make up an interesting life. Next time someone tells me to slow down, I’ll let them know that my intelligence makes it impossible.