Sunday, March 4, 2012

treat. yo. self. 2012

What a full weekend this has been! Full in that happy-life-affirming-so-glad-to-be-alive sort of way. Perfect timing for sure.

Yesterday I started the day with a half-day retreat about Thresholds--about being in that time in your life when you are between the old and the new, trying to determine what to keep from one world and bring into the other. (And what to leave behind.) Obviously, the topic has been on my mind and the timing of this retreat was perfect. As any good retreat, it inspired some good journaling, pondering and art-with-greater-meaning-than-meets-the-eye-making. I'll be writing more about it in the near future...

And after a morning of reflecting and looking inward, I joined two friends at the Mall (of America) to have "Treat! Yo! Self! 2012!" (Our evening was inspired by a hilarious Parks and Rec episode, here's a taste.) Hayley, Diana and I spent over two hours at Sephora where they taught me how to use make-up. Yes, this aspect of womanhood is something I am completely clueless about but actually very recently have become quite curious about. I was shocked at how much fun I had learning something so girly and so against the grain of how I see myself. Which, in its essence, is a good thing. I left the store with a lots of treats for myself, and the resolve to have a little more fun (and be more experimental) with the face I put on. Literally.

Today I extended Treat! Yo! Self! 2012! with my housemate, as we decided to get massages. We called a dozen places before finding one with two open appointments. My body occasionally resists relaxation (a problem I am working through), but I'd say I did a pretty good job at easing into it. Probably because I had been on a Treat! Yo! Self! high and was in the self-care zone.

And last, but not least in my weekend of goodness, I had a delicious dinner and even better conversation with my friend Mel, who I hadn't seen in awhile. Mel is someone who I consider to be quite different from, and someone who I've known for many years and in many iterations--a friend's girlfriend, a partner of the company I worked for, a neighbor, and now--and best of all--just my friend. It's fun to watch our friendship evolve and to see the ways we continuously are growing more comfortable with each other.

One stark difference between the two of us is that Mel, by all appearances, seems a bit serious and reserved, whereas I face the world- and the literal places I walk into - with (more often than not) a shit-eating grin on my face. I'm loud to her soft-spoken; over-sharing to her private.

Or so I thought.

Tonight I think I saw a different side of both of us: I saw Mel more willing and eager to open up, and I saw myself more turned inward and quietly reflecting on her confessions. And then I saw us both sharing the space more, and giving each other the room to think and communicate and be vulnerable. It felt like a very equal and safe space. I'm realizing the more we get to know each other, the more ridiculous it is to try to put each other in tiny boxes. She reminds me of the many dimensions we all have.

On that note, my parents surprised us all this weekend by spontaneously getting a dog. I didn't think spontaneity was in their DNA. At first I was pretty disturbed because of how out of character it seemed. But that's not fair!  Even if it's scary when the people we think we know the best do something that surprises us, it's actually quite a relief to acknowledge those particular individuals evolve just like the rest of us.


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