Melanie lines up the questions and we knock em down! One by one, like bowling pins. Not really. We answer them. I’m rambling before I even start. Shocker I know!
QUESTIONS
What activity instantly calms you? Taking a deep breath or changing position. I have these techniques down to a science. Comes quite natural to me but I fought it for years. Not anymore and especially being work from home by myself. I can turn off the Zoom camera while still listening then get up to pace. Pacing always calms me.
There is also something to be said for “shaking if off” not just Taylor Swift’s song but the actual doing shaking. I get up, take in some deep breaths, flap or stretch my arms, kick my legs, wave my hands and that stops the intrusive thoughts dead in their tracks even if only temporarily. For me, I cannot move and be nervous at the same time. Weird as that sounds, moving calms me.
What’s the most spontaneous thing you’ve done lately? I got my underarms and legs waxed for the first time in 15 months. I had already paid for a wax pass in March of 2020, mere days before the stay orders became a reality. They’ve been open with new protocols for some time now but I wasn’t ready. They only do appointments so maybe that takes some spontaneity out of it. Still I decided spur of the moment and acted same day to get in.
I have (8 x 2 body parts) more sessions already bought and paid for. Once they are exhausted, I am done forever. If the pandemic taught me anything it is to not do anything I don’t really want to do. So many of my actions pre-Rona were because I thought that was the expectation. Now quite frankly I don’t give a flying fuck. And when I go back into the office dress code be damned. Personal hygiene is one thing. I will do all that as I have done everyday for myself even at home. But the extras? Hell nope!! My time is better spent. Maybe I get lucky and they send me home for forgetting I must keep my shoes on.
If people receive a purple heart for bravery, what would other color hearts represent? (Example yellow heart = cowardice). Here are a few of my guesses … Blue heart for first responders? Green heart for nature/gardens? Yellow heart for sunshine. Black heart for Joan Jett?
What is the bravest thing you’ve ever done or witnessed someone else do? Hmm. I jumped into the pool to rescue my nephew when he was about three or four years old. All afternoon he had been jumping from the side for someone to catch him. Over and over. The game had ended but he wanted one more go, this time without his floaties, and without signalling for someone to catch him. Scary as it was, we were all there with him and no one noticed that last jump.
I had gotten out and was sitting on a lounge chair reading the Shining. I looked over, saw him struggling, then without thought, I jumped in. The pool was graduated from ankle high water to about 10-12 ft. Fortunately he jumped off the side into the pool where it was @ 6 feet deep. I put him on my shoulders like we did when playing chicken fight so his head was out of the water. He had been up on my shoulders before and quit squirming. Thank goodness my feet touched the bottom and I was able to walk to 5ft, then 4ft. Once my head and chest were above the water line, I moved him off my shoulders to cradle him in my arms. He threw up goldfish crackers and all kinds of snot. My sister thinks I saved his life.
Was that brave or lucky? Maybe more lucky …
GRATITUDE SECTION (Always optional)
How do you show gratitude to the people you respect? Trying to model their behavior and pass that along to others. The whole pay it forward mentality. When my brother in law was dying from pancreatic cancer, his one request of his loved ones was not for himself. He told everyone to pay it forward in his memory … often and for as long as we can. Nothing was too small either. Gratitude in perpetuity. Ahhhh, now that’s the sweet stuff 🙂
As always, more to come.
