I can’t accuse my guardian angel of lacking a sense of humor. I woke up this morning – the last dream I recall was one of those “I’m at a conference and can’t even find the registration desk, never mind the place I’m supposed to be after that,” dreams – but the song stuck in my head had nothing to do with the dream. It was the 1940s era song by Sigman and Madigson:

“Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think,

Enjoy yourself, while you’re still in the pink.

The years go by, more quickly than a wink,

Enjoy yourself, enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.”

I haven’t heard the song performed since the last time I watched Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on New Year’s Eve (via television), necessarily before 1977, so it’s vexing to have it rattling around in my brain.

I don’t subscribe to the Bart Simpson philosophy of life that it’s “just a bunch of stuff that happened,” so I have to assume the song has meaning for me and elbowed its way into my conscious mind for a reason. Is the message actually along the lines of, “Hey! Hey! Apparently the whole week or so of readings from Ecclesiastes during the daily Masses in Ordinary Time didn’t get your attention. How ‘bout this?” Or is it some hiccup from my unconscious, nudging me to live up to my commitment to spend more time on art, reading and writing this summer? Either way, message received. It’s always the right time to discern about priorities, and apparently, it’s the right time, now, to give it some serious reflection.

Meanwhile, don’t forget to enjoy yourself.

Dr. Lori Puterbaugh

© 2015