Hugs not Hughs

I don't want being old or getting older to be a theme on the blerhg, but I think it's worth mentioning a few things.  Fifty plus years after poking my head part out to see sunlight for the first time, I've found that I'm a lot less willing to allow negativity into my life.  I mean, it's kinda hard to go out into the real world or open up an internet browser without some of it trying to get in through the cracks, but as it has been said, "if you don't like what you're watching, you can always change the channel... or throw the TV out the window, pour gasoline on it, and light it ablaze in your front yard... causing your neighbors to dial 911... so mebbe just change the channel or turn the TV off for a bit and go walk your dog."

It's been said.  I think.

I still think it's important to be critical in a constructive manner, being careful to not be condescending, judgmental, or liberally spreading my own values on everyone else with a novelty-sized peanut butter knife.  I want to be well-informed, remembering to not be too idealistic, while not allowing myself to be misled or unknowingly indoctrinated.  I want to be a source of joy in other people's lives without pandering just to get a pat on the back or a hard hit on the "like" button.  I've been doing my best to recognize talented and intelligent people in my world and respect the hard work that it took for them to get where they are today.  The Pie has taught me a lot about putting myself in other people's shoes and trying to be empathetic, knowing that they are the person that they are not only because of the hands they were dealt but how they chose to deal with it based on their lifetime of experiences and exposure up until that given moment.

Another thing that The Pie has taught me is that when I'm dealing with a situation like an unsuccessful repair job on a dishwasher on my day off that ends in me cutting off the tip of my left ring finger is whether or not the issue in front of me will matter in five years.  I'm not saying I won't remember slicing flesh from my digit, bleeding all over the house (hilarious), or the $500 I spent on a new dishwasher that I could have done some other cool fifty year old person thing with like putting it into my 401k, paying down the principal on my mortgage, or putting it under my mattress.

It's just that the dishes are getting clean again, so the whole episode barely constitutes as a blip on my life radar.

I still don't have feeling in the tip of my finger tho.

I want to spend as much time as possible outside, either walking my dog, riding my bike with friends or alone, doing trail work, doing yard work, doing no work, drinking beer, strolling alongside The Pie, watching other people do yard work, washing my car (twice a year), washing my bikes (way more than twice a year)... just being outside and mebbe smiling while sweating or shivering or what have you.

I'm not completely enlightened.  Who really is?  I'm not planning on it myself.  I'm looking at you, rusty water heater.  Go ahead.  Test me.

I guess all I'm saying is that while this is a great time of year to get a honking deal on a flat screen TV (I think they just call them "TV" now) or get into a heated political discussion around the Christmas turkey with your uncle you hardly talk to the rest of the year, mebbe go outside instead and stare at a squirrel in a tree.  Or hug someone or something or a dog.  Or hold a door open for a stranger (regardless of gender).  Or just do the whole "if you can't say something nice..." thing.

Negativity is infectious.  Somehow, spellcheck doesn't even think "positivity" is a word.

I knew I hated spellcheck for a reason.  It's really testing my empathetic side right now.