Friday, May 3, 2013

Just Take Off Your Shirt!


"Things that make you uncomfortable."

First off Jenni- this. THIS makes me uncomfortable. And probably the whole dang blogging world. Thanks a ton for that one.

Right up there with writing this are the obvious, like:

- When my friends want to shoplift something silly like Hamburger Helper or H&M accessories. Save it for the big guns, ladies.
- When Peyton decides that now is a good time to pull his pants down, no matter where we are.
- When unattractive junkies don't respect my space and start shooting up, right then and there.


*Aaaaannnd.... cue the crickets*


I kid, I kid. While none of these have or hopefully will happen to me, I'm pretty sure they'd make my palms get a little moist. Now you can add "reading awkward blog posts" to your lists. You're welcome.

On to the serious stuff.

First up is acknowledging death. I was going to try to write a whole post on this, but it makes me so uncomfortable I didn't even know where to begin. (Because apparently pushing mental boundaries is another thing that tests my comfort...) I have no idea what to say to people who've just lost someone. It's like I have all these feelings and love and sympathies but just know that words won't do them justice. So instead I just shut down and don't try. It makes me feel bad. It makes the situation awkward. But saying "I'm sorry" often has the same effect since I'm sure they've heard it a thousand-kagillion times and what do they say to that?! "It's okay"??! I know it's not truthful and bam! More discomfort. I need to get better but really hope I don't have chances to practice.

Then there is End of the World talk. I just can't take it. Plug my ears with a "la-la-la-la" and smack Peyton 'til he stops kind of uncomfortable. While deep down I know the Mayan calendars, gamma ray bursts, and comets will probably not come to fruition anytime in the near future, they COULD! I don't want to live through it, don't want anyone else to live through it, and almost don't want to have any more babies just in case our lineage has to deal with it millennia down the line. (Squishy baby cheeks trump the last one though, so I end up scooching those fears off to the corner.) 

And I've left the worst for last: sitting in my car waiting for the light to change with a panhandler mere feet away. I've tried the eye contact and smiling thing. But then there is the awkward three minutes of them standing there and me pretending to play with the radio or look at my phone or talk to the baby while their mental waves penetrate my thoughts. I don't want to not recognize the fact that a human being is standing right beside my window, but I also feel like recognizing turns the situation into a black hole that I'm not always prepared to go down.  I used to give meals, but got tired of having the receivers just throw it to the side. But maybe, just maybe, there's another way? I once changed my shirt while waiting for the green light, only to turn and see an older man applauding with two thumbs up. Surprisingly enough, no awkwardness!! And it might not be money, but I'm pretty sure I made his day.


**Go check out other blogs at Story Of My Life**
LIVE THE MURRAYED LIFE

10 comments:

  1. Oh my GOSH Christina, you TOTALLY got me with those first three bullet points. I was like what the !#*$, Christina?!! LOL!!! Imagine my relief when I realized you were joking. WE CAN STILL BE FRIENDS

    ReplyDelete
  2. You sold me with the bullet points, in the sense of how much my need to be your friggin friend in real life. I won't be able to go on much longer if this doesn't happen. And if it does you have the added benefit of knowing if someone in my life dies you can just say, "dude, that sucks.." and we'll be fine.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Panhandlers don't bother me, but firemen wish their boots collecting money, or the shriners... so awkward. And too funny about changing your shirt.

    ReplyDelete
  4. And you totally had me going with the shoplifting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tried to throw the hamburger helper in there to tip off! What cracks me up is I actually know Jenni in person and still got her!! Which makes me wonder a bit what I must be like if she thought this was believable... ;)

      Delete
  5. Love, love, love it and you! Btw, I'm happy to keep my pants on in public as long as I can talk to you about the Yellowstone Supervolcano that is overdue to wipe us out! For good feelings, check out this article: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/10/171607844/is-the-earth-cooking-up-a-super-volcano

    Love you C!

    ReplyDelete
  6. THis is one of the funniest things Ive read today. I dont know you and thought the start was bogus but hey you go right on trusting those friends of yours! lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Zoe!! I'm glad to hear that someone didn't think I hung out with all sorts of criminals. ;)

      Delete
  7. you said panhandler and that made me laugh! lol.. and talking about the end of the world makes me extremely uncomfortable :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. When I read your blog title I was worried as to the story you were going to tell ... so I breathed a sigh of relief at the end! I have to agree though that other people can be the most uncomfortable things of all.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are kinda the best and brighten my day! :)

And psst... I'd really love to write back, but usually do so through email, so I hope you're not a no-reply commenter!