The laugh just bubbled out.
We were on our early morning walk. A young woman wearing black athletic pants and top walked out from behind a large SUV parked in a driveway. With her head down, she turned towards us. Sunni and I stopped on the sidewalk to avoid running into each other. Well, actually, so my happy lab didn’t smother the stunning blonde with love. We exchanged smiles and greetings, and then she continued past us. Sunni and I walked on.
Then, after a few moments, a laugh simply bubbled up as a smile broke open on my face.
I think this is why I rented Pretty Woman the other night.
Bear with me; I’ll circle back around, I promise. Once you get to know me, you’ll begin to anticipate and hopefully appreciate the off-the-path thought processing.
I watched the movie Pretty Woman the other night because I needed a sappy, happy ending movie. Pretty Woman was perfect. But, as the laugh and smile burst joyfully from me, I realized I watched Pretty Woman for another reason as well.
Vivian is unapologetically who she is. Clearly, I’m not referring to her being a prostitute. Instead, cue the dental floss and cop-a-squat scenes. She is authentic – expressing her joy, naivety, vulnerability, and pain. Am I romanticizing her? Well, probably. I’m not a movie director or screenwriter, so romanticizing Vivian works for me.
And, here’s where I circle around and back to our morning encounter with the stunning blonde. She is wearing a great workout outfit, and I walk by her bundled up in hat, scarf, gloves, long winter coat, and boots. You get the picture. I know there’s no snow on the ground, and it’s in the teens, but the wind is brisk. It’s cold. The situation struck me as hilarious.
More than that, though, my head and heart didn’t go where they would have in the past. I didn’t fall into negative self-talk of justifying why I was wearing what I was wearing or body comparison. I didn’t hunch into my coat and look around to see if anyone else was bundled up to the nines. There you have it. I didn’t hunch and try to hide Who I Am.
What I did do was laugh, smile, and head to the park to throw balls for Sunni while we walked on this cold MN morning. I felt happiness flood me. I was thankful for the warmth of my clothing, the ability to be outside and moving my body, and the companionship of my beloved dog.
Even more, I was grateful for these signs of becoming unapologetically me.
And I realized I had another sign—my writing.
When I write, I write as my authentic self, and my sharing it with you through this blog and my caregiver book You’re Not Alone: A Caregiver’s Story and Guide Through the Loneliness, Overwhelm, and Practicalities encourages you to do the same – to be your authentic self unapologetically.
So, my friend, what have you experienced recently that has caused laughter to bubble up within you?
Whatever it was, recognize it as your authentic self expressing joy – and do more of it!
