Limbo

Today's post is written by my amazing husband Bob. Two weeks ago I requested that he write one because I'd been missing his voice on the blog. Not to mention, I absolutely loved the post he wrote back in March- A Guy's Guy- and was craving another. I told him, "It better make me weep!" No pressure, right? Well, enough preamble. Here it is...

“Every limbo boy and girl
All around the limbo world
Gonna do the limbo rock
All around the limbo clock...”

That song popped into my head today. Ha ha! Now it’s in your head too! Make sure to either hum the tune or sing it in front of others. Nothing like passing on a tune you can’t get out of your head to others. That seems to be the only cure.

It reminds me of the earlier years, roller skating around the rink while "Limbo Rock" blasts throughout the building. A single file line is formed and one by one people skate under the limbo stick being held by two people, one on each end. Everyone goes through and falls down or touches the stick, eliminating them from the game until there is only one person left. The person left is the one who successfully arches down, bends sideways or backwards, and seems to be a contortionist by nature, as each round the stick is lowered closer and closer to the floor.

For me, when the limbo stick gets to a certain height, my mind starts acting up. “I can’t do it. It’s too low. I’m gonna fall...”

Limbo as a colloquialism is "any status where a person or project is held up, and nothing can be done until another action happens.”

Sounds familiar.

Sending out resumes for a job over a year ago
Putting the house on the market
Calling/working with lenders and creditors
Temporarily living in the Midwest
Filing for bankruptcy

Waiting.

“Limbo lower now
Limbo lower now…”

For over a year, life has been in limbo. Always waiting for another action, being held up until something on the other end happens. Something in someone else’s control. An action on the other end.

Actions like

A job offer
Offer on the house
Agreement on new terms
The right time to move
Court approval

It all boils down to

a request
a waiting period
and approval/denial of the request

It’s the waiting time that seems to make things go into limbo. Whether it’s taking too long, or I want to be somewhere else, or doing something else, that’s where limbo comes into play. It turns to anxiety, stress, disappointment, depression, fear, loss, heartbreak, hopelessness. The limbo stick is too low.

I’m a very impatient person. So for me, something that might take a month, may seem like an eternity and completely stress me out. Someone else may not even notice the time go by and think to themselves, “that went by fast!” They don’t even sweat it. That person has a bit more flexibility in how they're viewing that particular situation.

“la la la...”

Maybe if I step back for a moment, stretch, breathe and relax when the limbo feeling hits, I won’t be so concerned about how low or high the bar is.

“Get yourself a limbo girl
Give that chic a limbo whirl
There's a limbo moon above
You will fall in limbo love...”

I know that when Stephanie and I spend time together and reconnect, things tend to come back in to focus. Life tends to be a little less hectic and a bit more magical. The limbo stick seems to be high enough to stroll right under. Effortlessly.

“Don't move that limbo bar
You'll be a limbo star...”

The question I pose to you is... how low can you go?

-Bob

Read Bob's previous post "A Guy's Guy"