Day 2 of the 10 day challenge is
“9 Loves”
So here goes.
1. Family and friends. Duh. Pretty sure you’re an asshole if you don’t include this.
2. Music. For so many years, the only way I could express myself was through song. It was always safer to say how I felt using someone else’s words, made more beautiful by the music. A good song can make you feel things you didn’t know you had inside you, and can allow you to breathe when you didn’t know you’d been holding your breath.
3. Nature. Trees, birds, flowers, the sky, butterflies . . . all things that make the world more beautiful and remind you that, even when everything looks dark in your life, there is light and freedom available to you, if you open your eyes.
4. Judy Garland. We covered this last post, but that woman never fucking gave up, and lived to make the world a better place through her art. You gotta love that kind of determination and, well, love.
5. Tea. I was a coffee girl for a lot of years, and it was a big part of my eating disorder. This summer, I discovered David’s Tea. They have the greatest collection of loose leaf teas in every variety: white, green, black, oolong, pu’erh, mate, rooibos, and herbal, and about a million flavors to choose from. My favorites are Forever Nuts and Mom’s Apple Pie. They help me get in my water content for the day (still a battle), and taste like a big hug.
6. Books. I’m a big nerd. I always have at least one book on the go (I think I have 4 right now), and love to escape into a good story. I also love auto/biographies . . . You can learn a lot from real people. Some of my favorite books are: The Wizard of Oz series (I have 10 of the originals, including a couple 2nd editions. My dream is to own a first edition of The Wizard of Oz), The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, Dancer by Colum McCann and The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Auto- and biographies: Get Happy about Judy Garland, Alan Alda’s books, and old Hollywood autobiographies, because they use old-timey language (Kate Hepburn, Fred Astaire, etc.) Oh! I also really like The Hunger Games trilogy.
7. Keeping on the über nerd theme, I fucking love learning. I was born curious: my dad tells the story of how, when I was born, the doctor lifted me up and I was already straining against his hands to turn my head and look around me. Nowadays, I’m still fascinated about everything. If I learn a little bit about something, I want to know everything about it. I like learning to craft to: just learned how to knit, so I can make Christmas presents for everyone . . . I overestimated myself, though, and all my friends and family might have to share one scarf . . . Also, once I learn how to do something and have mastered it, I never want to do it again, because the fun of learning how to do it is gone. Oh well. At least this nerdiness will come in handy, since I will have to go back to school if I want a good career . . .
8. All things vintage. I firmly believe I was meant to live sometime between 1920 and 1950. I love the fashion, I love
the artwork, the music, the movies, old pictures, old people . . . Another dream is to own a vintage Kelly bag. Come on. It’s got my name! I have to have one!
9. Finally, even though I retired from it, I still love musical theatre and performing. Basically, it makes me believe in a happily ever after. It’s like G.K. Chesterton says about fairy tales:
“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
Thanks for caring enough to read . . . anyone willing to post a love or two? No takers so far on the secrets . . . hmmm.
Be Anything But Quiet! 