Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Seven Things I Will Try to Love

“The way to know life is to love many things.” ~ Van Gogh

Well, this quote is just begging for a list, don’t you think?

Seven Things I Will Try to Love This Month (Yeah, seven, because everybody always does ten.)

1.      Mornings – My nemesis, The Morning, greets me each day with a punch to the jaw. I’m never ready for it. The alarm sounds. I groan like a wounded animal and slither out of bed, dropping to the floor and army-crawling to the bathroom where I’m supposed to perform some sort of magic trick and get ready to face The World. Ugh. I’ll try to love it this month. I will.
2.      Yogurt – A vile substance intended for creatures with no teeth or taste buds, yogurt reminds me of something you’d use in construction not in nutrition. I’ve heard it’s good for you though, like in all sorts of ways, so I’ll give it a chance this month. I’m buying the one with mini-M&Ms in it though. You can’t stop me.
3.      Driving – I’m a much better passenger. It makes me feel like an important person to be driven around. I can drive. I’m good at it, but I just hate it. Probably why I live four minutes from work, my parents, and most of what I need to survive in Suburbia. This month, however, I will focus on enjoying the journey behind the wheel. I do love my car, a bright orange Subaru CrossTrek. I’ll crank the tunes and channel my inner NASCAR driver. Start your engines…
4.      Grocery Shopping – I usually go right after work on a Wednesday night, and by that time, I want people to die. Especially people who park their shopping carts diagonally in the middle of the cookie aisle. Like, I NEED my cookies, peeps! Get out of the way. I’m also one of those folks who, upon entering a grocery store, am immediately NOT hungry in any way, shape, or form. Therefore, nothing looks good to me and I end up plopping any old things into the cart just to get the heck out of there. (Besides the cookies. That’s serious business.) During the month of February, I will look at grocery shopping as a lovely opportunity to try new foods and experiment with recipes. Cooking is an art form, right? I’ll be an artist… unless you block my path to the cookies. Then I’m an assassin.
5.      Neighbors – This is going to be a tough one. I don’t talk to any of my neighbors, most of whom I’ve lived near for ten years or more. It’s nuts, I know, but they’re just not like me. (Don’t call me a snob!) This month, I will try to find some common ground, spark up a neighborly conversation, not let my 110-pound, all black, German Shepherd growl viciously at them. I’ll be friendly. I’ll smile. Well, I won’t frown. How’s that?
6.      Country Music – I love many, many kinds of music. I’ll listen to just about everything, even obscure chanting from remote places around the globe. But country music? Bleck. While I love cowboys, I can’t get into the honky-tonk tunes. I’d much rather listen to some bass-heavy rap with explicit, demeaning lyrics than someone crooning about travelin’ down a dusty road and leavin’ his heart in Alabama. I’ll give it a shot though. I’ll picture leaning against a fence while I watch a hunk in faded jeans and cowboy boots tame a wild horse. Yeah, this could work. Give me some country music suggestions too, because I don’t even know where to start on this one.
7.      Fashion – If it were up to me, I’d wear a uniform every day, preferably my pajamas. Making fashion decisions makes my head hurt. Part of my reasons for not liking The Morning is that I have to figure out what to wear to work. It’s not too hard because everything in my closet is black or black, but I still struggle. This month, I will try to branch out of the black zone (hey, I did buy a purple purse last month) and really put some love into my style choices. Again, if anyone has suggestions on must have fashion items, please let me know. I need tutoring. Badly.

So there’s my seven. I’m not saying I’ll be able to love everything on this list by the time the month is over, but it’s a goal. I’ll do my best. At the very least, making this list gave me some ideas for character traits to give my fictional friends in my books. Win!

What are some things you don’t love but could try to love?

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Toodles,

Chris
The Maple Leaf Series, Available on Amazon, print and ebook
www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com

5 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

All that ambition in ONE month, Chris? That's an entire character overhaul. Why not combine some of your good intentions? Two birds, one stone and all that. Personally, I'd give up on changing your attitude about morning. Ain't gonna happen! Combine three and six. Country music/NASCAR, hand and glove - get it? Then two and four. All kinds of flavored yogurts and you don't have to cook them. Bonus! Five and seven? Dress up to meet the neighbors. TA DA! Done! Oh, don't thank me. You can do it! Best of luck with those guys in flannel!

Jannine Gallant said...

Put the yogurt in a smoothie. Not half bad. My girls do it all the time, then ask me if I want what's left, then tell me I have to wash the blender since I had some too...

Can't help you with the country music since I despise it, too. People may notice none of my characters ever listen to country music--even the cowboys. Classic rock all the way. Hey, I don't even want to change!

Best of luck with your list!

Christine DePetrillo said...

Great ideas, Margo! Jannine, I despise smoothies even more than yogurt! The texture of both gives me the dry heaves!

Barbara Edwards said...

Uh Oh, I think you're taking too big a chunk of the nasty. Like any habit, it gets changed in little steps. I've decided I'm going to keep my dislike for Rap music and traffic jams. And I do like Country music already. Mostly because the guys are hot.

Leah St. James said...

I'm inspired, Christine! I, too, should make my list of however-many-I-can-think-of things to start loving. I think I'll start with the callers at work. They're usually complaining. It's hard to love them. Hmmm. On second thought, maybe I'll just start with that one for now! :-) Good luck with yours!