Sometimes I think I shouldn't be allowed to breathe.

This is where I work. More specifically, this is at where I work. I don't actually work in a flower. I do, however, work at a place that harbors quite a few flowers. I am officially a volunteer at the Morton Arboretum, which is, I guess, considered a "tree museum." I work in the gift shop stock room right now, mostly just price-tagging various oddities such as t-shirts and ornaments, but I hope to one day expand my job description. The best part about working there though, is that I get to walk through miles of trees and flowers and lakes and praries and such. I also get to take pictures, hence the picture above. It's good for me. If I work there twice a week, that guarantees that at least twice a week I will take myself for a walk. One of these days I'm going to suit up and try running a little bit. It's also absolutely beautiful there now, now that spring is springing.

The reason for my title, though, is that I feel like I am becoming dumber. While I was walking around the Arboretum today taking pictures, my glasses fell out of my pocket. I know this was not exactly my fault; I should have known better than to put the glasses in the pocket that I did. So I retraced my steps twice, going back to each and every spot I had taken a picture from. Finally, my second trip around, under a tree, on wood chips, I saw them. My brown glasses, blending in perfectly. I'm so freaking lucky I found them. But this incident fits in perfectly with pretty much everything that has happened lately. I'm unsure whether the chemo is affecting my short-term memory or if my brain is just becoming sluggish due to lack of mental stimulation. Honestly, it's probably the second. Maybe I'm not exactly becoming dumber; it's just becoming harder for me to stay on top of the little things I have to do. I tend to forget to pick up an item at the store, or bring in the chairs when it's dark out. Small things, but when you aren't forced to be thinking ahead all the time, as you are with school or a job, you just sort of slow down. I feel bad too because my mom will ask me to do something, and I'll forget to do it. And I'm not trying to be insolent or anything; I just honestly forget. Bah. It's going to be fun trying to hop back on the busy bandwagon once I get back to school. But I'll worry about that when it comes up. For now, I'm just enjoying my hot chocolate. And that's it. Have a happy hump day for me. Peace.

p.s. Here's the link with the rest of the photogs, in case you're interested: http://picasaweb.google.com/Justmec2131