Dancing in the Grocery Store

A couple of times since we got married I have surprised my wife by asking her to dance when our wedding song (Taking You Home) came on while we were grocery shopping. You know you are old when your wedding song is playing in the grocery store! Of course she couldn’t say no, even though I’m sure she wanted to at least once. Those of you who know me are likely scratching your heads thinking, “where the hell did that come from? He’s too self-conscious to do something that crazy in public”. I even surprised myself but sometimes you just have let your inner child take over.

Now, I’m no Fred Astaire (youngin’s check Google) so this was not a ballroom display in the produce aisle. More like watching a couple of high school kids slow dance. We got a lot of bemused looks but we enjoyed a few moments of silliness celebrating us. And that was the whole point. Doing something spontaneously silly like that together got us both smiling and laughing and gave us – and those unfortunate witnesses – a funny story to share. It also made grocery shopping much for fun on those occasions. And no produce was harmed in the process. As a side note, my wife no longer allows me to accompany her to the grocery store.

In this environment of ever-growing division and seriousness we need moments of spontaneous silliness, affection, and connection to keep us grounded to what is really important. Imagine Congress breaking into a Monty Python song just when discussions got heated, or combatants putting down their weapons and raising glasses (or bottles) together. Yes, those are both way beyond the realm of possibility (unfortunately), but I bet you pictured at least the first one. Wouldn’t this be a better world if things like that happened more often?

You can do your part by looking for opportunities to be spontaneous; to be a little silly or just to do something unexpected that will make people smile for a moment. An unexpected – and appropriate - show of affection will brighten the other person’s day and yours too. Even finding and expressing humor in an otherwise tense situation will go a long way to easing things. It doesn’t take a lot of effort, though it may take a little courage; so muster all you can and be silly, be spontaneous, let your armor down and live the moment.

www.RetiredandInspiredat55.com 4-25-2022