Now I'm not making fun for a second (right now at least). Christopher took this picture and I'm fascinated by it. You've got to admit that this hairstyle is a deliberate kind of endeavor, certainly not something naturally occurring. I'd like to assert that if that's his hairstyle commitment, it's pretty safe to say he's not real concerned about our approval and he appears to be a pretty content fella. Christopher didn't indicate that he seemed at all unhappy.
I'm bringing this up to tell you that last year I finally gave up a long-time motto that I'd had in favor of another. It was time, I guess. I like a motto. It gives you something to guide your decisions. My old motto, however, felt more DESCRIPTIVE and wasn't the sort of prescriptive mantra that might propel me into a better life. I still believe it, but it's not a guiding light or anything. The old motto was "People are no damn good" and I would have loved to have a bumper sticker with it on there.
Now, before you get all glass-half-empty on me let me explain myself on that one. It's just something I observed and I'm willing to count myself as the person who qualifies as no good sometimes so I don't see it as something snooty or judgmental really, just an observation that kept me from getting too optimistic about the state of humans, maybe guarded my heart and kept me from being too shocked when folks misbehave. People, present company included, really are no damn good sometimes. If you don't believe this is a reliable statement, read the news.
In an attempt at self-improvement, I switched the old faithful motto to, "I don't give a @#$% what you think." Clearly the guy in this picture adheres to this way of thinking. This absolutely had to become my new motto because I actually happen to care way too much what you think and even if I don't know you, I really, really want you to like me. Talk about a black hole sort of time waster. So until I could put you back where you belong, (which is a position of secondary consideration in all decision making, including matters of attire, relationships, dance moves and major purchases) I needed a strong statement to propel me towards sanity. A housewife can lose herself in trying to gain approval.
I've spent some time liberating myself from worrying about whether folks approve of my parenting, my lifestyle and my words. So, when you see me and I am not perfectly dressed, I promise you, I'm not thinking about you. When you read something here that you don't agree with, I'm not trying to offend you, again, because I'm trying real hard not to think about you. When I pick my next motto, still not thinking of you. You can bet, though, if I see some kind of crazy going down at the Dollar Tree, I'll definitely be thinking about you.
Also, I'm now accepting suggestions for the new motto.
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