when life is good and you feel it.
I have a pair of denim leggings, though my friend Elizabeth referred to them just tonight as jeggings. And the weather was cool enough this evening to wear them. So I shimmied them on. I mean, they’re tight, you know; they require a dance just to pull them all the way up.
But anything that requires a dance is fine by me.
And I was driving to New Castle, feeling this deep sense of gladness. Oh good, that’s a word. I wasn’t sure, but then I typed it and no red squiggle is telling me that I should have paid better attention in school and what? you’re gonna take your GRE? well, you should at least know what’s a word and what is most definitely not, then!
I hate when the red squiggle says that.
But I rolled the windows down and then Usher came on the radio, singing about how DJ’s got us falling in love. And suddenly I imagined my sister Jenna sitting in the car with me. And I’d ask her in mock seriousness if Usher is referring to DJ Tanner, of Full House fame (since she is a diehard Full House fan), and then I laughed all by myself in my car with the windows rolled down and my legs all wrapped up in denim leggings.
And then the song played this beat, oh it’s a good one, and I couldn’t help it: I had to move. It wasn’t required movement, of the denim legging variety, but it felt almost as necessary. So I bounced a little in my seat and shimmied my shoulders a little too and then I noticed the guy who was also stopped at the red light watching. And I wondered if he could feel all this gladness and I wondered if he knew that was a word and I didn’t care at all if he thought what I was doing was strange.
Because I felt it, you know, deep down, and it was good.
And those are two rules I like to live by: when something is good and when something is feelable (which is not a word, cause now the red squiggle is yelling at me. oh, bother.), then go for it. And it might be dancing in your car or it might be telling your parents that you love them, even if that’s not exactly a vernacular in your family; or it might be coaxing your body to come on and run! because you’re alive and you might as well take advantage of that glorious fact; or it might be turning off the radio, cause it’s time to “put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard,” as Anne Sexton said.
in Funny Stuff, I Lift My Eyes Up, Loved Ones, Thoughts and Feelings
as car, deep sense, denim leggings, dj tanner, Fame, friend elizabeth, Full, full house, GRE, life, love, mock seriousness, new castle, pair, sister, sister jenna, squiggle, way, weather
You HAVE to love spontaneous inspiration. No matter WHAT the situation. Just please don’t dance yourself off the road
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Side note. i know it’s not next door to you or anything…. but my band is playin in philly on september 18th.. matinee show should be a good time. I’m looking forward to being on the road that weekend.
yes, spontaneous inspiration is a welcome intruder, I’d say. And I will absolutely try my best to never dance myself off the road–I don’t think it would go over to well to tell the cops, “I’m sorry, officer, it’s just that Usher was on the radio and I was really FEELING it…” No, I don’t think they’d get that at all.
And where are you playing in Philly, pray tell?
This small place called JR’s Bar. It was kind of a last minute thing.. but well.. it sure beats playing in the great state of west virginia.
well now, I would love to play in West VA some time.
and congrats on getting the gig–perhaps I will be able to make it out! I would like that.
Ha.. well i’m sure if you ever wanted to play here we could work something out. Also.. just let me know if you are gonna come or not so i can give you the full details.
totes! and thanks:)
ooh, I’ve done that. (Not while wearing denim leggings, though.) It was to Mmmbop, and the people in the car next door started dancing too
Great post!
hahahah Mmmbop is definitely one of those good and feelable songs–and I love that the other car joined in. Perf.
the title of your post alone makes me so happy!!! i love that you can feel that life is good..and that there are wonderful things that are worth dancing for and laughing about!!!! you deserve that so much!!!
yes, there are definitely wonderful things worth dancing for and laughing about–what would we do without those, I wonder? probably forget who we’re meant to be or something tragic like that…
Love this post! I know this feeling you describe (deep sense of gladness). I feel this euphoria well up inside of me sometimes, and it feels like it can not be contained! So, I’m glad that you shimmy and dance wherever you may be to recognize that feeling! And I love what you wrote at the end about acting on things that are good and feelable–especially about telling people that you love them. So true. So good.
and I thank you for your support of the word ‘feelable’ (even though it is not a true word. However, words that aren’t words become words all the time, so perhaps because you and I are now both campaigning for the word ‘feelable (you know, all those signs we make and proudly portray as we march around shouting, “Feelable for 2010!’–we’ve done that at least once or a hundred times on our epic walks, I think; ooh, and now I get the chance to employ the double parenthesis!)), perhaps now it will go in the next version of the dictionary.
or, at the very least, the urban dictionary.