Life as I know it...

As my father would say, “there’s no sense saying one thing and meaning another,” visiting your father on Father’s Day at a cemetery puts things in perspective.  That sounds horribly sad and tragic, and although that’s not how I intend it, the process does make you step back and think. As I stood there chatting with my Dad like somehow we were better connected at that location, I realized something. It probably wasn’t necessary for me to have stopped there at all. I think of him every day, in all sorts of locations and for all sorts of reasons. So why do I still feel, years after his death, compelled to stop at the cemetery on big, significant days? I realized it’s because I needed to “show up” for him like he always did for me. It’s like picking a chunk of time and dedicating it only to him. He really was the one that taught me why the act of just “showing up” is so important. There’s no question that losing a parent or a significant other is a gamer changer. There is your life

"And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music." -Nietzesche I'm a non-breeder ((I realize this first statement isn't exactly coming as a surprise to many). To complicate social matters further, I'm a non-married, non-breeder. My type isn't exactly going extinct but you sure won't find us flooding the grocery stores or wedding receptions. I don't get invited to couples events, I don't get invited to child-friendly events, I'm often that awkward plus-one that just doesn't quite fit. It's my type of people that cause married, breeders to tilt their heads slightly while chatting, trying to make sense of this situation. These conversations usually result in trailing off sentences... “So you're not married and you don't have kids? So you.....” Like somehow I'm about to volunteer that I have a third arm that I strategically hide but can pull out for a good party trick.

So I decided to detox.  I've not switched to a juice cleanse and I haven't given up wine (though I probably should do both) but I did briefly remove some things from my life. I gave up my cell phone, my internet, my computer, my ipad... For one day I cut myself off from texting, tweeting, facebooking, emailing, messaging No emojis, no emoticons, no memes, no random thought sharing. I didn't give anyone any warning, I just woke up and shut down everything and hit the road with no plan (or google map!) in place. By way of disclaimer, you should know that giving up google map is probably the most dangerous thing for me to give up. Well giving up food would be equally as dangerous but that would be more dangerous for others than for me once I turn “hangry”. Truthfully I'm not even extremely addicted to my cell phone. A lot of the time I have no idea where it is and I try to never look at it when other people are around – mostly because I'm so excited to