A Moment in My Life – Wednesday, January 13, 2021
I feel the isolation from being sheltered in place this week. Is it just me, or is everybody else feeling it, too? I’ve been asking myself, what is it about this week? We’ve been in quarantine for ten months. I’ve managed to make the most of each day and turned negatives into positives, but this week feels harder for some reason. I rely on social media to stay connected with my peeps, but lately, friends seem to post less. I rely on the talking heads on TV programs for connection, inspiration, and updates on current events. My favorite programs either halted production thanks to the new, more contagious strain of Covid-19 wafting through SoCal, or they are still heavily covering the Capitol riots. Neither helps my demeanor.
Nothing is going on. Nobody’s going anywhere or doing anything; therefore, nobody has anything to say. Creating the domino effect of dwindling messaging and forget about the phone calls. Rats. This is simply awful, people! Toxic for a writer seeking inspiration for something, anything at all, to write about. What happened to the days of not so long ago when a friend pops into my day, and suddenly we’re having this brilliant conversation that inspires my day’s column? Oh, I miss you, friend, wherever you are!
It’s a two-way street. I admit I’m not pulling my weight. I go nowhere. I do nothing interesting that I could talk about, but I have a goal of sharing what little I could to help those struggling for a glimmer of positivity that would lift their spirits, even if only for a moment. I know I’m not alone. We’re all on the same boat, is what happened. The good thing about this is that I trust everybody is doing the same thing I am—stay out of trouble and not add to the problem. That’s excellent news and would help.
I am determined to have something positive to show for my day. Considering my limited options, and I wanted something uplifting to end my day with, so badly that I went with this cute little movie on UP TV called Hopeless Romantic. I trusted that this movie would be as far removed from reality as it could be, and I was right. It did not disappoint. It was a fun escape for a couple of hours, and it wasn’t your typical romance. It was an interesting story because you’d think the hopeless romantic would be the female, but in this story, it was the hopeless romantic guy. If nothing else, he had me rooting for him from the get-go. I had to see how it played out.
The movie began with Matt going all out to set the perfect romantic stage for popping the question to his girlfriend. I mean, the guy is like every girl’s dream. He went all out, starting with a limo, tux, bouquet of red roses, reservation at a fine restaurant, and hiring a violinist. If only it ended with a yes, but then we wouldn’t have a story, would we?
He sheltered in place for days, endlessly losing himself in romance DVD after DVD until he was inspired to get his life back on track. His game plan followed the romantic storylines in the DVDs he watched, stemming from moving on with his life, getting over his breakup, to winning his girl back. He talked his best friend, Liz, who was getting over a breakup of her own, into being his wingman on this journey. They brave the singles’ scene going to a bar to meet someone, to speed dating, and so on. When one day, his ex realized what a catch he was and wanted to get back together. He was overjoyed that his plan worked.
He got his ex, whom he couldn’t live without, back, but something was still missing. They tried to make it work. Long story short, through the process of winning back his ex, Matt learned that he had been in love with the idea of “being in love,” which he had mistaken for being in love with his ex. When he did some soul searching, Matt realized he knew nothing about his ex and couldn’t lock down what it was he loved about her. He was definitely in love, but unexpectedly it was with his wingman, aka best friend, Liz, who he could effortlessly describe reason after reason after reason for loving her. Lucky for him, she returned his feelings. Aw, and all is well in my day again. I found something to smile about, which buys me time to solve the mystery of where is everybody?
Thanks for these stories. They do make a difference.
Thanks, Kathy, I appreciate hearing that!