Lately I have spent a lot of time worrying about big issues in our world. But fear not, I also spend a considerable amount of mental energy thinking about things that really don’t matter. Here is a sampling:
Little things I love:
The first hit of coffee in the morning
An empty kitchen counter
That my eight- year-old was just as grossed out by the kids in “Little House in the Big Woods” playing with a pig bladder as I was when I was 8.
My four-year-old’s early morning stagger
Making my husband laugh at jokes we can’t tell our kids
Clacking keyboard keys
Swimming in a pool empty of people
Writing in front of the fire in the winter and in the backyard in the summer
The smell of onions cooking in butter
Little things I hate:
Unisex bathrooms in night clubs
The smell of French fry oil in the air
A damp sweater
That my husband calls the electric powered floor suction device “your vacuum”
Other people’s hair in the shower
Gelatinous soups
That I know the words to every Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift song
Losing clothes
Looking for my glasses (you see, this is especially hard since I can’t see without my glasses and this happens in the morning when I don’t want to wake anyone up, so I wander around feeling up all the countertops, dressers, tables, etc. – until I remember they are in the car.)
Little things I’m ambivalent about:
Adults licking ice cream cones
Men getting mani/pedis
Drinking tea while reading in bed -I love this, but it belongs in the ambivalent category because it makes me feel like Mrs. Claus.
Peppermint chocolates- Are they refreshing and delicious or are they toothpaste covered in chocolate? I just can’t commit on this one.
All things technological
Sushi- I feel like I should love it, I want to love it, sometimes I love it, but sometimes it makes me gag.
Blow drying my hair- I hate taking the time to do it, but I always find that the warmth and white noise invite the same sort of relaxed pondering/problem solving that happens while vacuuming and showering. Plus, I get to walk around with straight, shiny hair instead of my standard hot mess.
When people say, ‘I read your little article’. – Hmmm, thanks for reading, but I have the same gut reaction to this as a man might have if you said to him, ‘I like your little penis.’
What are your strong feelings on insignificant things? Feel free to leave them in the comments section.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I like this little penis. I mean, I read this article. Now, go get some coffee!
Ha, ha, ha, ha! You put the ‘ha’ in Superha.
Very interesting blog. Seriously.
To be honest, I do not know the feeling of ambivalence. I love certain things. I detest certain things. Sometimes the line between the two is blurry. Things can move from one list to the other. If I think of something, I think about it on a grandiose scale.
The feeling of a wintertime fire tells me that I am warm, safe and in control of my domicile. That’s a big deal. I hold my head high and proud in my warm domicile. If I think of your vacuum I think about the fact that it’s a Dyson and it is supposedly the best and will keep our family healthier.
I don’t ever notice something and pass a mild judgement. I have great big emotion about something or I have no emotion at all. My psychological response to things is a deafening catastrophic crash or a majestic symphony of triumph. There is no in between for me.