Psst, come on in, jump into my little world... You have to go through the secret passage way in the library and then let yourself tumble down, as the floor opens up and your feet giveway...
Oh thank goodness! You made it. I was getting worried there for a minute... We have been waiting for you. Eager for our little intimate chats about little life things...
Here, put on your head dress. And take some pearls... Oh, you say you want a spot of tea as well?? and some treats??? Okay, you sit here... While I get tea ready.... How about some espresso??
You know, I was wondering? When did people make that sad decision to let go? To let go of their youthfulness? Of their silliness. To become grouchy and mean and rotten little people? I am constantly floored at the growing rudeness I face in shops, in restaurants, in the real world. It really scares me and sends me home in shock. My mom and I talk about this and remind ourselves not to stop being silly. Not to care what people think. Not to let people's unhappiness seep in... But sometimes, it strikes when you least expect.
Oh sorry, I got so carried away, I almost forgot about your tea... Here you go, take a cup of your choice...
The story that prompted all of this goes like this... I normally ship things from the regular US post office, where people are nice and wonderful. However, one day recently, I found myself at the privately owned local shipping place. I was being treated so poorly. I was prepared to pay their $96.00 to send a personal package. I was prepared to deal with a bit of rudeness. But, there was a limit. I was being yelled at and barked at. So, I walked over to my package, took it off the scale and then... I stood up straight and said "I am sick of being treated poorly every time I come here, I do not deserve this, and I refuse to ship anything from here." The woman started yelling mean things to me as I walked out.
I thought?? What have I done to deserve this? Even if she is having a bad day, I still do not deserve this. Not to this extent. It took everything in me to be strong... To not let her bad attitude seep into me, tainting a bit of me... Bawling out of anger and disgust with the whole thing, I promptly drove down the road to a UPS store I had never been to. I walked in, tears streaking my face and the people were wonderful to me. They said they had heard about that shipping place in Catalina. They weighed my package. I expected it to cost the $96. I take out my debit card and the woman says, "That will be $23.00" I was floored!! I thought, not only was I treated poorly at the last place, but they were blatantly overcharging.
You know, I refuse to lose my happy streak. To become so scorned and tainted by other people's bad attitudes that it affects my well being. I am not unrealistic though... I know how life works... We can't always be over the top bubbly and happy... But, why not a little? Why not share a little bit of light and love wherever we go? I am not trying to be corny, I am dead serious. How ever will anything change if we don't make little changes internally?
I refuse to let my silly youthfulness go. Not today. Not tomorrow. I will find myself, like I did at 6a.m. today, on a walk, repairing little pieces in me. Talking to myself, reflecting... For now, I will cross my arms, and refuse to let go.
And, I will continue to do an Irish jig in the street, everytime this comes in the mail...
Especially when the topic is about Halloween and the inside looks like this... Yippeeeee!!!
How do you feel about all of this nuttiness?
(photo of child taken from my copy of Amercian Junk, older hard cover)
