Best of 09 – Night Out

Night out. Did you have a night out with friends or a loved one that rocked your world? Who was there? What was the highlight of the night?
I don’t go out much these days. I’m busy, I’m tired, I’m a little lame. I think about my twenties where I was out all the time, footloose and well…actually….kind of miserable. Now I’m much happier but home more. So why do I start to feel shame as I begin to write this? Because I care what other people think about how I find my joy? Because there’s some social standard I feel the need to live up to? Because the fact that I’m exhausted, live in jeans and t-shirts and need to cover the gray in my hair actually does bother me?

Yep. Uh-huh. Yes. I’m still a work in progress and those judging voices in my head haven’t gone away completely.

So back to the questions. Did I have a night out that rocked my world in 2009? I don’t know. What does it take to rock my world these days? Great writing. Certain people – some I know personally, some I don’t. My family rocks my world. Inspired art. Watching a beautiful dancer move.

I had some fun nights out this year but I don’t know that any of them really fit the bill. But I had so many moments that did – that filled me with immense gratitude, that brought tears to my eyes, that made my heart burst. Watching my daughter play with my father. Looking into my husband’s eyes and knowing I made the right decision when I said “I do”, despite the “for worse” we’ve been through so far. Being moved to tears by stories of people’s inspired actions changing the world.

I had a great time salsa dancing with my friend Gil at a party last month. It was so much fun to move and sweat a little bit and be out in the world. I love getting together with friends for a glass of wine and to catch up on each other’s lives. But it’s the little things that really rock my world. And for now, that’s how I like it.

~ by Alana on December 5, 2009.