Day 19: Public Display of Affection
I am sure I have covered this issue inside and out, but here is a refresher....I hate big, public activities. While most people are wetting their pants to get to the outdoor free concert series, I am grateful to be living in the suburbs with an elderly dog that needs me to let him outside every hour. I couldn't possibly make it. Between the the traffic, the lack of parking, waiting in lines, and standing shoulder to shoulder with drunk assholes I just can't get excited about any of it. I avoid concerts, fireworks shows, festivals and farmer's markets. It's not that I hate people, I just hate being around them.
This year there is a ban on outdoor fireworks where we live, so short of driving past the rule breakers on our way home from the grocery store, we haven't seen any lights in the sky. I could survive the entire summer without a fireworks show, but our kids have only one childhood and they deserve every experience we can pack into the 18 years we have them around. I know the day is not too far off when no one will be asking to go to the park or wanting to see a drive in movie with their old, gross parents.
My husband thought it would be "fun" to take the kids to the largest July 24th fireworks display. He offered to take them alone because he is well aware that I would rather eat my weight in pickled beets than go to a park to see fireworks. Initially I took him up on the offer. I could sit at home reading a book or visit my sister and have a few beers with her on the patio. Both options sounded like heaven. The closer we got the more I realized that I didn't want to stay home, I didn't want to miss seeing my son's face when the sky lit up or miss my daughter laughing at her dad's jokes. I also wanted to give them the gift of my time and get out of my comfort zone to do it.
We packed the car with blankets and I committed to having a positive attitude the entire night, no traffic irritation, no swearing at strangers under my breath, no losing my patience over parking or flipping off pedestrians. It was quite a commitment and we had a wonderful time. We walked five blocks from our parking spot, initially sat in an area where we couldn't see the fireworks and sat in traffic for an hour to get back home, all for 25 minutes of lights in the sky.
"Thanks Mom and Dad for taking us to see the fireworks. That was so much fun."
That's all it took. My gift was my time and getting out of my comfort zone in order to give my kids an experience and I received so much more in return. It's becoming the theme of this giving month.
Day 20: Pedicure for Mom
We had this great little pedicure place where Mom and I would get pampered, it was inexpensive and they were fantastic. It's gotten complicated over there and the last time Mom went in, she spent a very long time getting her toes painted and most of the time being someone's shoulder to cry on. Needless to say, we both have really ugly feet right now, my toenails are so long that I can't wear half the shoes in my closet and Mom has been needing to borrow some polish from us to fix up her own toe issues.
Yesterday, while contemplating my gift for the day, I thought about Mom's feet. That sounds weird, but I wanted to share a talent with someone I love. What talent do I have? I am great at massaging people's feet, scrubbing callouses and painting toes. And I actually like it. It's a weird talent, but we all have the make the best with what we are given. While a lot of people are grossed out by feet and toes, I don't mind scrubbing, rubbing and smelling people's feet. Chalk it up to being an oddball.
Our bathroom cabinet is chocked full of nail polish, a pedicure set and a massaging foot bath. I threw them all in my trunk, dropped the kids off at the movies theater and headed over to tackle mom's feet. Mom and I laughed and chatted as I massaged her tootsies and painted her toes. A gift for the person who has loved me from the minute I was born. It's the very least I could do.
Interesting Turn of Events
I am not going to preach to anyone about what to believe or what not to believe, that's not my business. I believe that there is a higher power guiding my life and that when I ask the Universe for something, it is provided. That works for me. Here is how it worked for me 5 minutes ago: I wanted to do an outdoor service project tomorrow, it has been on my mind since Monday. I had every intention of calling my neighbor to see if she knew of anyone who needed yard work, clean up or moving done. I was tempted to ask on FB as well, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet. While I was writing this blog, I got an invitation from a FB group, Love Does Stuff (lovedoesstuff.org) for a service project tomorrow morning doing clean up and landscaping. Coincidence? Not in my mind. The Universe gave me exactly what I wanted. Thanks for that, Universe.
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