Jerry Seinfeld did an entire show about nothing and it was a great success. Since it is one of my favorite sitcoms, I thought I would give it a try and write about nothing.
Is life made up of a whole bunch of nothing moments? We can think of nothing moments as nothing but I think, instead, that they are something!
Why did we all find it so funny watching the Seinfeld crew waiting for a table at a Chinese restaurant? Or when they couldn’t find their car in the parking garage?
Because we can all relate. Lover and I once lost our car at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville. We walked around for at least 20 minutes with perspiration dripping from our faces, going from lot to lot, clicking the car keys with the hope that one of the grey Honda CRVs would light up. We kept at it, wandering around in circles, and at one point a kind lady pulled up and offered to drive us around. Embarrassed, we politely declined and continued on our search until we finally found the right car.
These nothing moments may not be among the most amazing moments in a life; the thrill of going on an African safari or the exhilaration of a first skydive. But these everyday, ordinary moments have a way of staying with you. Author and researcher Brene Brown wrote, “In many instances, we equate ordinary with boring . . . ordinary has become synonymous with meaningless.” But she also found that the memories that most people held most sacred were the ordinary, everyday moments.
Here are a few sacred moments from my life.
When my friend Lori and I shared a ski house back in the early 90s, we had a fireplace, one that could easily have been a substitute for a sauna. The heat made us both a bit woozy. After waking up from a heat-induced nap I blurted out “Hey, Lori did you know there are multiple ways of spelling ‘Helen?’”. Thirty years have passed and we both still belly laugh about this moment. And by the way, there is only one way to spell “H-e-l-e-n.”
One Sunday, at a church service, during one of those grim weeks after September 11th, my friend Bridget and I found it impossible to hold back our giggles when we both realized that Marla Maples was in the pew directly in front of us and that even she had noticeable underwear lines. This was like the time that Elaine left the PEZ dispenser on the chair during a piano recital. It wasn’t the time or place for a belly laugh, but the distraction was welcomed.
And then there was the time that Michelle, Marybeth and I were trying to launch one of those paper Sky Lanterns. I’m not sure what we were thinking trying to ignite a match with the wind making so much noise that we could barely hear each other as we yelled out “hold this part down,” “no, hold this part down.” But we were determined. We continued to yell “block this side and then strike the match” and after many failed attempts, we finally got a flame. As the little lantern brushed the sand we exclaimed with excitement as we thought it was at last a “go.” But it had other ideas, like bursting into flames. The three of us began chasing after it running against the wind in many directions to catch it. If only there had been a camera to capture this moment of ordinary.
Me and my work pals have shared many nothing moments. There was the time when I mistakenly thought that LMAO meant “Leave Me Alone Now” That evening, at a work dinner, a colleague asked me, “Why did you stop answering my instant messages?” “I thought you wanted me to leave you alone,” I replied. It was a wonder we were able to finally place our food order amid all the laughing. I am now more proficient with acronyms but now and then I still wonder when Cinco de Mayo is.
I love these nothing, ordinary moments; they are the essence of life. If you have any nothing moments to share, please drop a line in the comments. Perhaps I can read them over a margarita on Cinco de Mayo!
We can’t have a month go by without a little something Italian. There is an Italian phrase Dolce far Niente that translates to the sweetness of doing nothing. Today, April 30th, I took the afternoon off to do nothing and came up with this little bit of something to write about. And it was sweet!
TL's Moments 