Nerd Alert

My bff is going through a divorce. Watching your spouse move out of your home apparently is not a lot of fun, so the kids and I took her out on Saturday night. My first hope was to hit a museum, because when a marriage breaks up, it seems like an appropriate time to look at pictures of naked cherubs and drink over priced lattes in a cafe. But we ended up shopping instead.

For those of you who know me, shopping isn’t really something I do. Thrifting? Yes. Malls and stores? Not so much.

But this experience was different. We took in the sites and sounds of downtown Pasadena. The brick buildings, window displays and bustling coffee and trinket shops were balms for our weary souls. She took a mental break from her worries, and frankly, I took a mental break from mine.

As we sat down to dinner at a place that served over 100 forms of burger, it dawned on me that I really don’t have as much fun as I’d like. THAT needs to change. And whose fault is that? Mine. Duh.

For that evening, I didn’t worry about the prices of food. I didn’t say no to my daughter’s request for a $6.95 bowl of frozen yogurt. I didn’t complain when she threw it in the trash five minutes later. “This isn’t like the yogurt I’m used to,” she whined.

“Yes, Stink, you CAN have that set of black nerd glasses. Along with your muppet hair and Pikachu hat, you look AMAZING!”

My kids are 11 and 10. It’s time that they got out of their little suburb bubble. It’s time for me to get out of mine.

Pip and I will be a bit harder to convince, but not Stink. He was exceptionally jubilant that evening.”I LOVE the city!” he said. “I could live here!”

“Me, too,” I thought, “Me, too. Maybe one day I will. Why not dream? A book could lead to a play which could lead to a movie. Why not dream? I used to dream. It’s never too late.”

That night, Stink was exceptionally twitchy and ticky. The waiter likely noticed, because at the end of our meal, he came up to the table. Stink had just finished showing T his talent show magic act.

“Kid, I have to tell you, you are amazing. I mean it. You are so funny. You are awesome!” the waiter said.

Stink responded in kind, “YOU are awesome! I always tell people that! Stay awesome!”

The waiter just smiled and told Stink he was going places. That just lit up my grinchy little heart.

I love my wacky, big haired, over -the-top performer. He’s teaching me to have fun. He’s teaching me to be awesome.

On that note, readers, stay awesome. Because you are awesome. It’s never too late to dream.

We can’t always change tics, but we can change our minds about how life can be. We can accept what we can’t change, change what we can, and have the wisdom to know the difference.

Who is with me? Who wants to sign the “I’m doing something new each month pledge?”

Sign in with a comment. I’ll hold you to it.

PS: I actually get two points because I took Adelia’s kid to the movies on Friday. Two events in one weekend. It was a big deal and so worth it! Yay for me!