JULIE ANN STEVENS

“Six,” she says.  “That’s it.”

“Are you kidding me?

“No,” I protest.  “Six almonds is all they say you can have?”

I think about how often I enjoy almonds, which is just about every night.  Start to think about how many —

No —

I won’t.

Let the almonds be.  I’m doing just fine where they’re concerned —

And besides, I bargain with myself, I haven’t had so much as a leg off a Gummy Bear in seven months —

(Not that I’m keeping track.)

And I can’t even remember the last time I had —

Oh, hell —

The point is, I guess I’ve been feeling a little — well —

Deprived.

And maybe it’s just the way things are these days.   The economy and all.

But then.

Maybe it’s just a friendly reminder.  A kind of note to self about taking care of self in changing times.

Because, yes, when it’s inevitable that things are changing — whether we want them to — or not —

There are endings.

Things to cut back on or cut out.

Things that may or may not be missed.

Things — or people — to kiss good-bye with tears in our eyes.

And in these cases, I think it might be best not to scrimp on the almonds —

While we wait patiently with hope in our hearts —

For the next hello.