Cardiogirl 19 percent body fat 100 percent fun

2007-01-18

it's all in the details

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I think I was about 12 or 13 when I realized that other people have a back story. Meaning, I started to see other people as they really are: people who have a history of love and loss, happiness and sadness, dysfunctional family members, etc. Prior to that time, other people were like mannequins to me. They were out there but I didn't give them much thought.

It's kind of like when you're a kid and you run into your third grade teacher at the grocery store. Your mind almost cannot comprehend that this person has a life outside his or her desk in the class room. Certainly they don't buy food at the grocery store and see movies at the movie theater. The teacher is just in the class room waiting for your class to arrive.

So since my personal discovery that life does not revolve around just me, I have been fascinated by other people's stories. I think that's part of why I majored in journalism in college. It was a professional way for me to be nosy and ask questions of other people. I should have majored in psychology, which I find even more interesting, and which pays more money. My own therapist said I would make a good therapist. Maybe she's just trying to make me a repeat customer. . .

Anyway, what I enjoy most are the small details about other people. I like knowing that my family doctor routinely gets up at 1 am with his youngest kid because she wants a pacifier, a blanket or her dad. Our pediatrician prefers to go barefoot, but wears white athletic socks when she works out at the gym. Paula, my therapist, is also a talented artist and she painted two or three of the canvases that hang in her office.

I love those "100 facts about me" that most Diaryland writers have. Someone (I'm sorry guy, I can't remember who you are) mentioned that he takes eggs out of the carton symmetrically starting from the outer edges, so the carton's weight is distributed evenly. I do that too!

I suppose, for me, this is a way of verifying that we are all struggling with life and we are all trying to do the best we can. We may have different origins, but we all have to figure out how to navigate the life in front of us.

Knowing some of the small details also strips away pretense. I think society prefers that we are all shiny and new on the outside, seemingly without warts and bad habits. We all know better than that. The trick is remembering that.

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Another overdue thanks: I'm sending an extra 1000 strides on the elliptical trainer to willowfox who added me as a favorite a while ago. Thanks Willowfox!

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2007-01-18 at 7:33 a.m.

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