A LIFE NOT SO ORDINARY

I recently had this conversation with my youngest son…

JUNIOR:  Mom, why did God invent the “fake middle finger”?  It doesn’t do anything and it’s really hard to move, so I’m just wondering why do we have it?
ME:  The fake middle finger?  What finger is that?
JUNIOR: You know, you have your thumb, your pointer finger, your middle finger, your fake middle finger and your pinkie.  All the other fingers do something or are easy to move, but not the fake middle finger.  Is that why it’s called “fake” because it just doesn’t do anything?
ME:  (bewildered) Well, I’m pretty sure you’re the only one I’ve ever heard call it the “fake middle finger.” – so your perspective on this whole ordeal is completely original. 
JUNIOR:  What do you call it?
ME:  My 4th finger or my ring finger.  See, I wear my wedding ring on it.
JUNIOR:  Huh, so you mean, I’m going to have to get married before this finger will work for me?
ME:  I guess so, son.  I guess so!

Yes people – this is my life and these are the conversations I have with this child. I am constantly amazed at his perspective on the world.  It is never ordinary.  Usually when we are done talking, my views of something once considered normal or basic is anything BUT that.  I mean, when was the last time you looked at your fingers and saw something more than just fingers?  I’m not sure I will ever see my ring finger as anything but my “fake middle finger” ever again!

Life with that little boy reminds me that there is a lot more to this amazing world and I miss its uniqueness because of how I view it.  I see ordinary, basic, or dull.  He sees interesting, confusing or something to be explored.  With this in mind, I often wonder, what else to do I look at and not appreciate as I should?

Sunrises?
Sunsets?
Warm comfy pillows?
Forks?
Socks?
Tape dispensers?
Mountains?
Trees?
Earlobes?
Clothes hangers?
Light switches?

I mean, what do we look at every day and take for granted because in our mind we have labeled it as “ordinary”? What would our day be like without a sunrise or sunset?  How comfy would our beds be without pillows?  Can you imagine using only spoons at dinner?  What would your shoes feel like without socks?  You get my point.  When you change the way you look at it, suddenly those ordinary things become a lot more important or maybe more interesting than you deemed them before.

Bottom line, not recognizing the ordinary means we’re missing out on what we have every day.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, try something new and reflect on your carrot peeler, or dental floss.  I mean, can you imagine a world without dental floss?  The horror!  (Check that -- maybe some of us “floss forgetters” might not miss the minty oral string, but I’m sure we’d all miss our carrot peeler…right?)  Who knows for sure?  But one thing I do know, taking for granted their existence keeps us from seeing new perspectives, doesn’t it? 


So turn today on its head!!  Try looking at lip balm like you never have before and truly enjoy your not so ordinary life!

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