Thursday, November 13, 2008

Surreal

Dictionary.com defines surreal as "having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic." Has anything ever happened where you just have to step back and say, "This is not my life! This is not happening!?"

I'm not talking about life-shattering experiences, like being told by a doctor that your child is missing some pretty important genetic material or has some odd chronic disorder (which, by the way, is not as bad a thing as one may initially suppose) or opening your front door to Ed McMahon and the Publisher's Clearing House crew (which would presumably be a welcomed curve-ball.) I mean, those things can happen, too. But I am referring to more of the everyday stuff that helps you appreciate the everyday stuff. Like sitting in an airport restaurant and having a waitress spill a carafe of milk down your front and when you get to your final destination a few hours later (still wearing your damp-and-beginning-to-smell-funny-shirt) you discover that the airline has lost your luggage! (True story - happened to my mom.) Or filling up your gas tank and then getting your car totaled - and you find yourself wondering what are you more upset about: the wrecked car or the wasted gas? Does any of this make sense to you? If it does, I'm sure you'll appreciate this Talking Heads video.



And with all this, can you laugh? I have just got to say that I am thankful that:
  1. I have been blessed with either an incredible insensitivity to what is actually happening at times, or else I have been amazingly blessed to find humor in the strange reality that occasionally infringes upon my life.
  2. I am lucky to have at my side someone who can laugh with me.
  3. I have a life that is so rich and varied in what it offers me.

3 comments:

Jennifer Lee said...

I am constantly impressed by your positive attitude and sense of humor. I am so glad I know you and get to benefit from your list of gratitudes.

Ryan said...

Surreal is sitting together that day on a park bench in Tokyo, head-in hands, trying to figure out our next move after frightful reality crashed our party.

Surreal is coming home from a business trip, when it seems life is crashing down like never before, and having the night end with laughter.

Real life is really unbelievable at times, but thanks for sharing it with me, Allison. Our vast throng of readers across this continent, sorry for the public display of affection, but she really is remarkable.

Ryan said...

And surreal is the true unspoken back-story here.