Be the Turtle

My favorite leader, Karen, has been enamored of Uno, the beagle, since he won best in show at the Westminster Dog Show in February. She has talked about "being the beagle" off and on since then.

I'm about to celebrate a birthday -- my double-nickel to be exact -- and a very good friend of mine recognized my birthday by giving me a small turtle. It's heavy for its size, which makes it just perfect for dropping into a pocket to fiddle with or holding while on the phone with a computer user (I do tech support, among other things, for a living) who is having trouble with a Word document. When I opened this marvelous little package, my friend told me to "be the turtle."

I knew immediately what she meant: Take your time, be meticulous about sorting out health issues, don't race ahead like a hare, take care. Then she went on to tell me that there's a lot of mythology and symbolism connected with turtles. Here's one I particularly like: Turtles seem to possess an enviable and god-like resistance to aging, and so they came to symbolize longevity. That's particularly appropriate for a birthday, yes?

I treasure my turtle. I told my friend that I like it especially because she's so good at selecting "fidgets" or items that are good for moving around in one's hands. Here comes the tie-in to Weight Watchers: Karen talks a lot about anchors. Anchors are nothing more than fidgets that remind you to eat wisely.

Now I have a fidget/anchor that reminds me to "be the turtle" in many ways: with weight loss, health issues and, most importantly, friendship.