First of all, let me make a shout out to Katie and Mamie: thank you for dragging me out of the house for a night of much needed craziness. I get into bad habits of getting off work and going home to do more work because I feel obligated. As stupid as this sounds, I actually told Mamie that I wouldn’t be able to go with them because I needed to mow the yard. Yes the yard needs a trimming, but since my parents have been gone on vacation, I have done nothing but clean house, wash dishes, keep up the laundry, water plants, and feed animals just because I felt like it. What is wrong with me? Obligations are ok until they begin to take over your life. Fortunately I got a “sign”: the mower was out of gas. So instead of falling into my newly developed routine, we loaded up in grannies car and hit the highway. I saw one of the worst movies ever made, ate disappointing custard thanks to the consistency of peanut butter (haha), found some stellar shades at Walgreens (of all places!), and laughed my a** off! Best night in a while.
I also learned some amazing secret agent moves from Cameron Diaz, as well as learning how to be a complete idiot and mess up everything that I possibly can. Thank goodness for Tom Cruise’s super sly self and everything falling into place just in the nick of time- saved the plot! Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to save the movie from being placed on my “never watch again” list.
Here’s another much needed shout out: I am not a Kentuckian and never will be, however, Murray KY will always be close to my heart. But that is not enough to mold me into a UK fan. Blue is not my color (neither is orange, but that’s beside the point), I think the fact that I lived in Wildcat nation during the UK2K absolutely did me in. By the end of last semester, if I had heard one more person talk about UK, I probably would have exploded. Kentucky people love their cats—props to them for that, but I’m not a fan. Nevertheless, I have friends that are die-hards, so this one is for you: congrats to the UK basketball team for making NBA history. That’s all I’m going to say. No need for overkill. Speaking of overkill, please no more John Wall dances for a while, ok? Thanks.
Back to last night. There’s just something about rolling the windows down and singing at the top of your lungs to a CD you found from high school. Even when the CD was over, the radio somehow knew exactly what to play. I was really “feeling” again. We get so caught up in the day to day routines that we forget to do things for ourselves. Sounds cliché but it’s true. Consistency is good to a point, but when you lose yourself, it’s not worth it. Good or bad, you have to feel things–raw emotion to stir your soul, and to remind you that you’re still alive. Bursting out a song that is so relative to your life at the moment while you breathe in the 80 mph summer wind, knowing that your hair will be a tangled mess in 2.5 seconds…complete joy.
And in case you didn’t know, there’s a difference in joy and happiness. Happiness comes from material things and can be taken away. Joy in an internal thing that can’t be taken or given, it must be found. Best part about it: it’s contagious. Last night wasn’t happiness, but joy. So thanks again for the contagiousness.
Well TGIF! I have been looking forward to this weekend since Sunday; it’s going to be a good one. Hope you all have a good weekend as well. Be careful, wear your seatbelts, and don’t drink and drive. And remember, only you can help prevent forest fires. Haha! Now, go out and find your joy, then spread the wealth.
Love always,
Addie
“When you’re young, your whole life is about the pursuit of fun. Then, you grow up and learn to be cautious. You could break a bone or a heart. You look before you leap and sometimes you don’t leap at all because there’s not always someone there to catch you. And in life, there’s no safety net. When did it stop being fun and start being scary?” –Sex and the City
Breaking out of the Bootheel 