Your Vibe Right Now is Perfectly Okay
The kind of vibe you’re giving off is completely acceptable in today’s world
Any given day can mean giving off a completely different vibe from the previous. I thought about this today as I drove my kids over to their grandparents’ house to housesit. It’s one of those random thoughts you get when you’re routinely driving somewhere you’ve gone a million times.
“Huh, I wonder what people see when they look into our vehicle?”
Well, it’s safe to say this thought came to me smack dab in the middle of trying to pick something out my teeth. Yes, it’s probably a gross thing to do. No, sometimes it’s a reflexive action. As we drive around town, seeing other people passing by doing their own routine in some way, do other people pay that much attention to anything anymore?
In that moment, I felt super aware of my surroundings and the fact that I was a 41-year-old dude, driving his two kids across town, and trying to get the skin of a prune out from my teeth. What have I become? Seriously, is this the constant state of things now where anything goes? Has this past year been exceedingly difficult to the point where doing this said task, without floss while driving your kids around, is perfectly acceptable?
First, I don’t even think it’s acceptable, so please know that my own semi-disgust at that moment is felt; though, I will not say I’ll refrain from doing it again. Why not? Because this past year has been exceedingly difficult and these somewhat routine trips are necessary, and if that means I catch myself doing something gross, I guess it won’t be the end of the world. Oh, the life of a parent during a pandemic. When someone asks me how I dealt with these days in the future, I don’t know if I’ll be able to avoid the truth.
I DRANK COFFEE AND ATE PRUNES FOR BREAKFAST
I wish there was a punchline in there somewhere, but sadly that is the honest state of things. That’s the vibe I feel myself giving off. So, when that thought entered my mind while driving my kids around, I literally smiled knowing that my wife will have a field day with this for the rest of my life. I can hear her now, “Hey, old man, how are your prunes and coffee today?” Or, maybe she’ll come up with a new nickname that will involve wrinkly or squishy. Oh, geez, I shouldn’t be giving her ideas.
I can hear Charlie Brown in my ear right now, moaning “Good Grief,” as I spout ideas for my wife to torment me later in life.
Anyway, back to that old-man, eating prunes, and drinking coffee vibe. Yes, this is my life right now. I am doing what I can to get up each morning, take care of my kids, especially heading into another year of homeschooling, and I’m hoping that I provide enough positive energy for myself, them, and Meghan when she gets home from teaching. So, if I have to pull off this weird vibe to get me through the day, then I guess that is exactly what I’ll do.
When we get down to it, it’s easier to realize our levels of comfort as we do basic tasks when in sight of other human beings. Perhaps before all of the pandemic stuff happened, it would’ve never been something I did out in public. I honestly don’t know, because I cannot remember that version of me at this moment in time. It’s safe to say living day-by-day has taken on a whole new meaning and this particular version of me is quite comfortable in his own skin. His wrinkly, prune-like skin. Oh, if you’d like to know what nicknames my wife comes up for me, I’ll make sure to share them out into the world — someday.
In the meantime, realize you’re not alone. Whatever vibe you think you’re giving off, or if you’re uncertain of how you would’ve reacted to doing something now versus back before the pandemic, it’s completely understandable. It’s probably one of the more relatable things any of us can agree on. We’re all going through this in our own way, so rock on with whatever vibe you’re feeling. Me? I’m here in a rocking chair, with only the sounds of a ceiling fan going, and realizing I am exactly that vibe. I am prunes and coffee.
Good grief.
