Midday Blog Post

Golden Moments Collection: Chapter Title – The Gazebo Drip

I was sitting outside under a gazebo, editing chapters, thinking about legacy, light, and storytelling structure. Barbi was inside for a meeting, and next to me sat my sweatshirt, my kendama, and my keys.

Then it hit me.

I had to pee. Bad.

The kind of bad where you try to pretend it’ll pass. You shift your weight, breathe slow, distract your mind. But this wasn’t going anywhere.

I stood up quickly. In that same motion, I slung the kendama around my neck and grabbed for my keys—but they slipped from my hand.

They hit the ground like punctuation.

I looked at them. “Of course.”

I bent down to grab them. That’s when it happened.

Pressure shifted. Muscles lost the argument. I felt it.

That’s the hourglass moment—the instant between almost and too late. Between composure and surrender.

Still holding my kendama, I fast-walked toward the entrance. Not quite running. But clearly on a mission.

And naturally, someone was outside. I nodded, tried to stay cool. “Hi there. I really gotta go.”

They smiled like they understood. Maybe not the specifics—but enough.

I made it to the restroom. Relief doesn’t need a paragraph.

As I came back out, I smiled and said, “That’s the greatest feeling.”

They laughed. I laughed.

And I sat somewhere else. In the shade. Ready to write again.

No shame. No performance. Just another golden moment.

A reminder that being human is the best kind of story.