philosophizing

A while back, Gotta Knit tagged me for a meme. And I said some very bad words, because it was not one of those easy ones, like "what's your favorite color and favorite flavor of toothpaste?" Oh, no. It was a hard one: summarize your life philosophy in six words. Not five. Not seven. Six. Dammit. So I did a lot of thinking. And counting. And cussing. And more thinking. I finally came up with something , although there were several honorable mentions which didn't fit the word count that I'll list first.

"This too shall pass." This is a big favorite around my house. Mostly it's used when things are going bad, but I think it's also useful to keep in mind when things are going well. Nothing lasts forever, however much we may want it to. When I was younger, I would make the mistake of assuming during the happy times that I would be happy forever. Nuh-uh. Doesn't work that way. Remembering that happiness, like everything else, comes and goes, helps me keep things in perspective and not be crushed when Old Man Trouble comes around again.

"Sock yarn is good. Need more sock yarn." Well, this is pretty close to being my life philosophy. Hi, my name is Kim, and I have a sock yarn problem. But it's not really a real answer, is it? And a fair question deserves a fair answer.

What I finally decided on is "Treasure love in all its forms." One of my Eastern European coworkers (Oscar, of course) was telling me the other day, "Kim, you need a boyfriend." (Yes, again.) When I said, "No, I don't. What do I need a boyfriend for?", he responded, "You need someone to love you." And I told him, "I have LOTS of people who love me." And I realized it's true. I may not have (or want) a boyfriend, but I have very close ties with both my parents, an amazingly fun extended family, great coworkers (yes, even Oscar), dozens of friends who love me to bits, the Best Roommate Ever (my heterosexual life partner), and two obnoxious, adorable fuzzballs to squish and love on (because it is really hard to mope when you have a cat whining and meowing and rubbing on your face). Why should I feel bereft because I'm boyfriendless? I'm drowning in love over here. Just because it's not That Kind of love doesn't mean it shouldn't be treasured. Life usually doesn't turn out the way we've planned, and many of the people I've loved (romantically and platonically) I no longer talk to (what with break-ups, moving away, graduating, etc.) But that doesn't mean that those relationships were meaningless, or that I won't have more love come into my life. And I've learned to value it in whatever form, whether it's a boyfriend or a mentor or an obnoxious kittenbeast that wants to lay on my chest and knead my bladder.

It may look like they're snuggling, but they're not.

Kitties must maintain an inch of air between them at all times.

Oh, and no, I'm not going to tag anyone else. If you wanna do it, consider yourself tagged.