The Boring Life

There is something to be said for the boring life. To some people, this is the worst thing that can happen. For me, it is a blessing. I’ve had enough excitement and trauma to last me a lifetime.

When I was young, I couldn’t wait to get away from my parents. That isn’t to say I wanted or needed to leave the community as it was large enough to get lost in. I just wanted to get away from them. Getting away, as it were, became a whole adventure. Not one I’d care to repeat. Exciting? Try terrifying.

As I grew older, I would think vacations were a nice thing and would enjoy the places I would go and the new things I would see. I have seen many parts of the country and enjoyed them all thoroughly…to a point. Ironically, coming home became the best part of the trip.

Some people are adrenalin junkies. They must have excitement in their lives all the time. They push themselves to the limit. They see adventure and promise in every new twist and turn and when they don’t, they become bored. They feel a life that isn’t full of the “rush” isn’t worth it. They are constantly on the move looking for new sights, new tastes, new adventures. They climb the highest mountains and swim the deepest oceans and still crave more.

For me, it’s the little things.

Watching how my sons’ eyes light up when he talks about his race. How excited I get when I know my kids are coming for dinner. Hearing my kids laugh when they’re all together is better than any concert I could attend…and the warmth I get from them is so genuine it brings tears to my eyes. Seeing them fall in love and getting to know the people they have chosen to share with us… blissful.

My ‘rush’ is catching my husbands’ eye from across a crowded room and realizing he’s been looking at me. Accidentally meeting him on the street where I didn’t expect to see him or having him walk into work to take me to lunch. When he takes me in his arms and holds me close and tells me he loves me… or that I look especially nice today… or that he is so content just being with me.

I find joy in my home… a dream for so long, finally realized. The thrill when I see a beautiful bird at the feeder that I may have never seen before – or am delighted to have return When I see my pups running around the yard being silly, I can laugh out loud. The contented faces on my kitties when they’re sleeping and the purrs that I elicit just by gently touching their fur. I see beauty in each new bloom in the garden and get such a feeling of renewal when they all come back in the spring or I plant something I never have before and it grows bigger and better than I ever thought possible. Or that walk in the woods that leads me to find a surprising new tree or plant that nature has decided to grow in my back yard.

I am a self-described techno-nerd, I admit, but I really have pretty simple needs to make me happy. Give me my family, healthy, happy. Give me a bunch of silly critters. Give me a warm fireplace in the winter and beautiful flowers to enjoy in the summer. Give me a book. Give me a few people who know me and can stand me anyway. Give me a man who really is my ‘better half’. Give me a fast internet. (Okay, so I can do without the last one… )

Give me a boring life. I can make it exciting enough for me.