So you know how during the last storm NYC had to use trash trucks as plows because of the huge amount of snow that fell?  And people were complaining because the trash was piling up?

Well, it seems that something good came of it.  I read about a guy who tried to commit suicide by jumping out of a ninth story window, but landed on a pile of trash bags, which broke his fall and saved his life.  The article didn’t mention how he felt about it.  I imagine not happy… at least for now.

So why is this relevant to my blog, which is mostly about religion, spirituality and the like?  First because it amused me (saved by piles of trash?!) and second because I’m experiencing that you-don’t-know-what’s-gonna-happen-but-you-jump-anyway feeling you get sometimes.  Although it’s mostly about my kids, one of whom jumped all the way across the pond to London yesterday (lucky duck) and the other who’s about to finish high school and doesn’t quite know what to do next (which I don’t envy at all).

This jumping business is delicate stuff.  There’s only so much research you can do in advance, and then you’re forced to make a decision without really knowing the outcome.  You could choose to never take the leap, but then where would you be?  Right where you started.

While I’m not actually pushing my kids out of the nest, I am glad that they’re standing on the rim and contemplating jumping.  It’ll be wonderful to watch them fly away…. and if they fall, I hope there’s a pile of trash waiting at the bottom to break the fall.