Laughter: The Key to Romance
“You said you loved me in your sleep, but I didn’t tell you because I wanted to say I Love You first.”
- The Killers movie
Being the utter romantic that I am, my first thought upon hearing this line was something akin to…. GAG ME!!
Frighteningly, it seemed as though every other woman in the audience was ‘Aww’-ing! It’s horrifying how simplistically young women see romance. If this is the general rule by which women measure ‘love’ and ‘romance’ I recommend every man start memorizing movie lines and they’ll get any girl they want without doing a thing.
I openly acknowledge that I’m a little skewed in my views of romance, afterall my husband bought me duckie key chain that quacks mechanically and threatens to blind random strangers with its powerful LED light, and I adore him for it. Perhaps this is simply because I lean more toward love reflected by actions. But really, sappy words can be rehearsed and making me laugh is a lot harder to do. (OK I lied…making me laugh isn’t really that hard, but I treasure it a lot more than perfect words.)
“We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.”
- Agnes Repplier
So to heck with perfect lines and adoring eyes…give me absurdity and the ability to revel in it together. For there is nothing more joyous than my husband dancing with me around the kitchen, our sock feet slipping and sliding, making up crazy (sometimes scarily falsetto) songs, while laughing until both our legs give out.
That is Romance!
Ode to a Chocolate Crinkle: Dancing with Myself
It’s that perfect moment in time… My teeth bit thru the crisp outer shell into it’s delectable chewy center causing my eyes to close in rapture trying to capture the taste for just a little bit longer. The sugar hits my blood stream, I feel the tingles all the way to my fingertips and I realize…I have discovered the perfect Chocolate GF/DF (Gluten Free/Dairy Free) cookie. Before I know it my legs are a doing a freaky hokey pokey with my right foot in and then my left, my arms flapping lamely about in a bizarre chicken like pattern and now I’m Dancing With Myself. The tune winds itself around me as I revel in the joy of perfection.
The Cookie in question has left my hubby in awe and has won over the harshest of GF critics, my brother. Could this moment get any better??
It appears that yes it can!!
The winds begin to bluster and blow outside, lightening fills the sky and the clouds let loose as though cheering me on and joining in my slightly crazy celebration. Now that my party is in full swing I’m no longer alone in my delight as it seems that the heavens know a good thing when I taste it!!
So excuse me while I return to my happiest of dances and indulge in JUST one more cookie… (humming ‘Dancing with Myself’)
Goals Tied Up in Bureaucracy
- Karl Marx
I’ve Become My Own Bureaucracy!
It’s sad to note that my list of goals has been held up due to my indecision regarding how to group them. Do I use the ‘have’, ‘know’, and ‘do’ categories or do I break them down into ‘literature’, ‘music’, ‘sports’, ‘fitness’, ‘financial’, ‘relationships’, etc?! Or do I try to combine them all? The thought of combing them all requires the creation of a very detailed and searchable spreadsheet!!
Which Way Will Get More Goals Done?
I like the idea of breakdown into detailed categories since it’ll allow me to know what I’ve accomplished in each area of my life and where I’m taking it. However, the have, know, do method will allow me to quickly and easily check of a goal and find another goal to work on from the same category meeting my need to be working on at least one item from each of these simplified groups. I’m sure many people would say “well, just read through the whole list and choose what you want to do next.” The issue is that what if I’m not choosing in a balanced manner…maybe I’ll only work on my fitness goals or I only complete my knowledge goals but don’t ever DO anything?
Moving Forward in Other Ways
As the days get darker I am in my continual search for ways to stop the coming lethargy. Thankfully, the new S&D Aquafit in Beaumont has finally opened up!! (yeah!!) It takes 10 minutes or less to walk there at a brisk meander. My list of excuses for not working out has been chopped again, though in reality my main excuse was the distance to a gym. But yesterday despite the post time change exhaustion I headed on over. I’ve even pulled out the Light Therapy light and am trying to use it regularly. And because sometimes I want to be an overacheiver I’m doing some more research into nutrition. I already eat very healthy but I want to make sure that I’m getting all the nutrients needed to prevent or at least minimize the exhaustion that the dark months bring.
Streamlining the Lengthy List of Goals
“If you are bored with life, if you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals”
- Lou Holtz
Aaah, a quote for my Dad, both because Lou Holtz was an NCAA Coach and because I recall many a New Years Day when Dad with start questioning what was on our list of goals for this year. Oddly or not, due to this early questioning I’ve never been truly bored due to a lack of things to accomplish. Instead I have been faced with endless distractions…Attempting Too Many Goals at Once. Last week my Mom and I were discussing ideas and things that we should do, when I looked at her and said ‘we have too many ideas‘. It is impossible to finish one idea or goal if your brain has already moved onto the next one!! My list of a million and one things to do leaves me hopping from one thing to another without every achieving anything.
Who’s Goals Are They?
My list exceeds 130 goals and continues to grow. I believe one of the biggest problems with this never-ending list is that many of the items I attempt first are the ones I Feel that I Should Do. Which items on the list are just Good for Me and not want I really desire to do? For instance, knowing a second language such as French would be great, but I am really not excited by the prospect! Maybe someday this goal will return depending on where my life leads, but right now I don’t need or want to learn French so it has now been scratched of the list. Also, which goals are there because I know members of my family hold as great ideas? While my brother may really want to learn to water ski, all I’m visualizing is the nasty water that this event occurs on and that the result does not make going into an Alberta lake worthwhile!
The Success Principles: Goal Setting
As I work through this principle, I’m trying to finally streamline and clarify what I really want. What do I really want to learn or do? What excites me? What have I included because I know others expect me to want to learn this? Specifically, what do I want to see or experience when in Maine and Georgia? When Do I want to have the goal check off by? What habits do I want to develop?
Thankfully, I at least have a list to start from though I think brainstorming ideas is the easy part. I guess we’ll see this week what gets left on the list, what gets added, and what changes direction. Even though this is a bit overwhelming at least I’m Never Bored!
