The World According to Barb: January 2021

Hello all, and welcome to 2021. Sure, it didn't get off to the greatest start with the whole attempted coup, but I have to say that things are looking up. Yes, I am about to blow some sunshine up all of your respective asses, so if you are not in the mood for some positivity, stop reading now.

So what is there to be so happy about, you ask? So many things, and thanks for asking. For one, it's not 2020 so there's literally one direction to go in and that is up. Shaky start aside, having a new administration in the White House has gone a long way to improve my mood and overall positive outlook for the rest of the year. I do believe that the entire world is taking a collective sigh of relief.

I don't want to get overly political, but let's just say that now that we have officially flushed the orange turd, life will be better. My heart won't sink every time I hear the "Special News Announcements" on TV and I no longer feel compelled to watch the nightly news for fear of what he's done.

A COVID vaccine is now in play, so an end to all this madness is in sight. Life will return to normal or whatever version of "normal" is possible now. I'm just hoping concerts, travel and hugging come back as I miss them all very much. I miss seeing my parents too so hoping the state of Missouri can get this shit together sooner, than later. Hopefully having a better federal plan will trickle down. Lots of "hopes" but all the signs are showing that there are reasons to be hopeful.

Love Life Update

Yes, still dating Jon and things are still going well. We have successfully traveled together, a big milestone. Also happy to report that I believe we are finally getting out of the infatuation phase. You know that early part when you are blind to any personality faults? I don't trust relationships until you get to this point. You can't see the forest for the trees during this intense initial period. My last several relationships died quietly, and in some cases not as quietly, once this phase fizzled out. So the fact that I can clearly now see all his various quirks that will drive me crazy is a good thing.

Don't get me wrong. I love Jon, but he's definitely more of a "fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants" type than I am. And, time is a bit more nebulous to him. I'm a planner and he thrives on spontaneity. He's leaves my place about half the time with something left behind. The inside of his car looks like he might actually live in it, which came in handy on our second date when Bowie jumped up on the coach and stuck his tongue in his ear just as he was taking his first sip of red wine. Yep, he had a change of clothes in his car!

Our parenting styles could not be more different. And, he has admitted that he often misses flights, possibly a consequence of the whole time vagueness thing. No worries, though. If he travels with me, he won't. Just needs that nudge. Someone to keep him on task as he gets distracted fairly easily.

The Travel Challenge

I love to travel so being a good traveler is of paramount importance. This is true of both boyfriends and friends. You often don't see someone's true personality emerge until some travel disaster strikes, or in some cases, minor inconveniences can have the same effect.

My last boyfriend, Dave, sadly did not weather the travel challenge. We were checking in for flight last summer, and since he had bought the cheapest possible ticket, the agent had to come and check to make sure his carry-on was an appropriate size before he could get his boarding pass. This fact really irritated him and the fact that there didn't appear any employees were around only contributed to his increasing sour mood.

In an attempt to avoid a meltdown, I went over to the bag check counter and inquired (politely) if someone was working the kiosks. One yes, he said, he'll be right back. I conveyed this to Dave who immediately glared at the bag check guy and from across the room screamed, "What are you doing? Why don't you come help me?" Dear LORD!!! Oh...OK, you are one of those people?!? I did not know this.

A mile-long security line did nothing to improve his mood. So I did what I had to do. I left his sulking ass in line, went over to the TSA Pre-check line, where I breezed through security, and was halfway through my glass of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc before his grumpy ass showed up at the gate. Sadly this was his swan song. RIP Dave.

The Hater's Guide to Yoga

Dear Lord, there's a yoga update? Stop rolling your eyes. After 128 yoga classes, I still can't really touch my toes but I can go far enough to fool others, similar to doing the splits during cheerleading tryouts. No way that ever happened, but apparently no one was the wiser. Besides my body remaining stedfast in its commitment to remain unfolded, flexibility in other areas of my body are much improved.

I can't say I hate yoga anymore as it has done a lot to quiet my mind, improve my posture and increase my flexibility. All things I needed to work on, especially during our shit-ass 2020. I actually look forward to doing it now, but it didn't start out that way. I definitely count myself among the cynics when it came to yoga.

I tried it many years ago at the urging of a much-younger ex-boyfriend (catch up on my rather infamous May-September relationship blog here.) but I never really bought in. I had always thought that it wasn't real exercise unless you are sweating and there was some level of intensity. And, that whole meditation part at the end, Savasana, would just send my brain spinning. I would be laying there thinking of all the things I should be doing, mentally compiling my to-do list.

The whole breathing thing I didn't get either. I found it rather insulting that a behavior I've always thought of as being fairly involuntary, like your heart beating, would need to be practiced. What? This aspect of yoga has also taken time, but I am now understanding the reasoning behind it. I can't explain it, and I'm not here to sell you all on yoga, but it does help somehow. I can't say I have mastered meditation, but I'm open to it. Old dog, new trick.

I still yell frequently at my computer during classes, sometimes finding these Peleton instructors hella-annoying. "Hold this very difficult posture while I acknowledge everyone's birthdays and anniversaries." How about you don't? Screw you, Anna Greenburg and your freak-show flexibility! Ok, so I might not have perfected a true Zen state but by the end of class, I feel better than when I started.

As you can see the dogs have finally stopped invading my personal space during yoga. Probably finally got tired of getting hit with a yoga block.

Ok, I'll sign off as this is getting a big long-winded. So to summarize, 2021, is going to be a better year for us all. Trump is gone. A vaccine is coming. And, the days are getting longer. Soon spring and warm weather will emerge and things will look very different. So buckle down, folks. This crazy ride is almost over and we got this!