You are a weirdo. Don’t worry though, so am I. Yesterday it occurred to me that we are all secret weirdos. I came upon this notion when I was doing one of my weirdo things yesterday morning. Now you’re intrigued aren’t you? You want to know what my weirdo thing is. Ok, I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours in the comments section below.
A habit I’ve picked up is walking. Not just walking like normal walking. I walk for exercise. Yes, I know a lot of people do that. My weirdo thing is that every Sunday morning at 6:15 a.m. I walk a mile and a half to my nearest supermarket to get a fresh baked peanut doughnut and a cup of coffee. I walk 25 minutes to get there, then I spend about 5 minutes in the store getting my doughnut and coffee, and then I walk 25 minutes home. Yesterday it was 26 degrees Fahrenheit outside and the sidewalks were icy. Didn’t matter. I still did my “doughnut walk.”
It hadn’t occurred to me until yesterday that my waking up before the sun and walking for a doughnut and cup of coffee regardless of conditions might appear weird to some people. You know what made me realize that my behavior might seem weird? I noticed someone else’s weirdo behavior.
Over the past nine months when I’ve done my Sunday doughnut walk, I’ve noticed someone else doing something weird. On my way to the supermarket, I pass a gym that doesn’t open until 7:00 a.m. and yet every Sunday morning when I pass the gym at about 6:30, there’s a woman parked in her car in front of the gym. It’s looks like she’s reading and listening to the radio. Every week for nine months I’ve thought to myself, “What a weirdo! Why does she sit outside waiting for the gym to open? Why doesn’t she just sit at home and leave later?”
Then just yesterday, it occurred to me that I’m her Sunday morning weirdo. She sits in her car waiting for the gym to open and sees me walk by, and then about ten minutes later she sees me walk by in the other direction with a doughnut and coffee. She’s got to be thinking, ‘What a fecking weirdo! Why does he walk to get a doughnut and then just walk home. Why doesn’t he just drive? If he’s trying to exercise, doesn’t he realize that the doughnut calories completely cancel out the walking?”
What’s my point? My point is that we are all secret weirdos. We all have some quirky behavior that works for us but makes no sense to anyone else. We are all the same. None of us are any less or more weird than anyone else. It’s the holiday season and we are all different. Try being kind to everyone because to someone else you’re the weirdo. Now, in the comments, what is your weirdness?
Have a great Monday! ~Phil
I still wear a mask in the gym. There are people all around me with non. I get looks but have no problem being the weirdo.