As I was going about my business today, I noticed a few things - all of them small:
I decided - spur of the moment - to stop into the salon at Walmart (I KNOW!) and let the cute little red-haired girl* trim my hair for me. I was at the OMGoodness-I-can't-deal-another-minute-with-the-mess-hanging-on-my-head stage of hair growth, and decided that I didn't need to wait for my usual cutter (I don't really get my hair "dressed" - just lopped off in various configurations of boring) to have an opening, since all I wanted was the grown-out layers trimmed even with the rest. She did a fabulous job in about fifteen minutes flat! She was adorable, I was happy, and - even after a generous tip - I saved at least $9.00 over my usual haircut (my needs are too basic for even the hoity-toitiest of hairdressers to charge me much).
I had one more coupon for free fries from Burger King that expired TODAY, so I had to use it TODAY, so I drove through after my bank trip (also a drive-through - I LOVE that you can make deposits at ATM machines!). The girl that took my money wasn't quite sure what mood she was in, but when she headed back to the window with the fries, I saw her coming and flashed her a smile. She responded with a beautiful smile, too. I took my fries, thanked her, and wished her a Happy New Year. She smiled again, and wished me the same.
I noticed (again, like way too many other times) that there are a lot of stoopid people out there, especially when they get in their cars:
Keys? Check!
Phone? Check!
Brain?... Brain?... Brain?... **
Typically I respond to said stoopidity (yes, I know how to spell it, but this spelling is reserved for the truly brainless) with muttered-under-my-breath commentary regarding their mental prowess (ha!) or similar. It occurred to me today to NOT say anything, followed by the thought that if I practiced NOT saying unkind things, perhaps I could re-train my brain to not even THINK unkind things. I plan to conduct this experiment, and will report back.
Where am I headed with this? Well...
It's customary for bloggers (myself included) to tell you about all of their grand plans for the upcoming year. All of the wonderful things that they have in store for you, and all of the brilliant changes that they're going to implement in their lives.
Here's the low-down on my plan for the upcoming year: I am making small changes this year. I'm tweaking. I'm doing little experiments and trying out small adjustments to things that are mostly working, but need a bit of an assist. Nothing grandiose, nothing beyond reach.
This year, I'm taking time for me EVERY DAY! I'm going to do small things that nurture my soul. I'm going to try out some small career moves that will make my heart happy, and hopefully my bank account, as well. I'm going to read more, dance more, create more, cook more, blog more.
I read a post by one of the bloggers I've started following recently that validated my new paradigm for me. You can read it HERE. Amen! Why do we consistently set aside our wants and needs to satisfy some (generally largely imaginary) agenda that someone else thinks matters? Isn't our opinion as valid and important as anyone else's? Especially for our own lives? I'm going to try NOT to do that, this year.
Thanks for stopping by, thanks for coming back if you decide to, and I promise my most excellent promise*** that I will pay better attention to this blog this year! That's the only promise that I'm making, though.. :) HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
*Charlie Brown reference, don'tcha know...
**Ferris Bueller reference, of course...
***E.T. reference, 'cause I can...
