My family went to GameStop after lunch today to "look" at the Nintendo Switch. My husband and I were thinking of getting the girls the gaming console for Christmas. I had brought my to-go cup with ice water into the store with me, like I usually do. As we were getting ready to leave, I accidentally dropped my cup, spilling ice and water all over the GameStop carpet. My oldest daughter helped me pick up all the ice cubes and put them back into the cup. I set the cup of ice on a display and then asked the clerk if he had any paper towels I could use to sop up the water from the carpet. Upon returning with the paper towels, I bumped the display and AGAIN knocked over the cup of ice. This time, the distance of the cup from the floor was greater, therefore the ice cubes dispersed themselves even further away from each other on the carpet. By this time, my husband was laughing and shaking his head. The clerk had just asked him if we wanted to purchase accidental damage insurance for our new Switch and he said "no" but now he was second guessing that decision.
If this scene had played out when I was younger, I would have been embarrassed, feeling awkward and inept. But now that I am older, I couldn't stop laughing at myself. In fact, I got so tickled at myself that I had a laughing fit on the carpet of the GameStop. The ice was picked up again, eventually. People were staring. I didn't care.
I know this sounds cliche but it's cliche because it is true: When we stop caring about what other people think about us, we become free to be ourselves. As long as our intentions are good and we are not trying to hurt anyone, does it really matter what happens? As we draw closer to this holiday season, I am seeing many people put immense pressure on themselves to have the "perfect" Christmas because this year has been so horrible. It is like they are trying to compensate for the dumpster fire that was 2020. Perhaps lightening up and laughing at ourselves when we fall short of our (and others') expectations is just what we need to mitigate the angst of these times.
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