Spontaneous Saturday: A Scary Proposition

Shh!

Nobody knew it but me: yesterday was “Spontaneous Saturday.” Okay, so I kept it to myself just in case it didn’t work out.  That is the beauty of setting goals to overcome anxiety: you never have to tell anyone about what you are doing.  If it blows up in your face, so what?  The point is: just do it – try something.

Genesis

I was exhausted from a busy work week and facing the proposition that the pile of work on my desk was not getting smaller. If I stayed home, I knew that my conscience would hound me until I got some work done, so I knew that the answer was to unplug, unwind, and unravel. Besides, yesterday was Saturday, and that is the day that I have always reserved for my wife.  It is our day to spend together, and I wanted to make it special.

Blessings

I could say that I am lucky to be in a happy marriage, but that would only be partly true. You can’t just get lucky in love, you also have to work at it. People change: waistlines expand and hairlines recede, and if you can’t adjust to that, well, see you in divorce court. I will say this, however: I do count my blessings that I am in the type of marriage where my wife and I can sit for hour after hour and just talk to one another.  That’s all we need.  I never get tired of her or of hearing what she has to say. As for how she feels about me, well, I know I drive her a little crazy sometimes, but that’s only because I like to drag her into my world.

The Day

I had made up my mind that I was going to be impulsive yesterday.  I know it doesn’t sound impulsive if you have to decide about it ahead of time, but trust me – it is.  From a man who takes 20 minutes just to decide what color underwear to wear, doing things on the spur of the moment tests my will. So, yesterday, I was determined to do anything and everything my wife suggested (good thing she didn’t suggest cleaning out the garage.)

Early in the day, my wife suggested going out to brunch.  I said “okay,” and she looked at me in amazement.

“Wow,” she said. “I never thought you’d say yes.That’s very impulsive.” I was beginning to worry that she was on to my plan, so I just smiled and changed the subject.

After that, she suggested a car trip to look at leaves. The trees have turned colors here, and they are just about peaking right now.  The only problem was that it was still cloudy, and I wanted to take pictures. But I agreed, anyway, grabbed my camera, and we were off.

We went to a park, where the clouds lingered and I shivered because I had underestimated the wind. Nonetheless, I let my camera (my passion) lead the way. Over time, the clouds parted and the day turned pleasant. We spent the whole day together and did whatever we felt like doing.  It was liberating and relaxing, and I amazed myself at how little anxiety went through my head the entire day.

I wanted to write about it and share my day with everyone, especially if you are struggling right now. Don’t ever give up on your dreams.  Don’t ever be afraid to take chances or fail at something. There is too much good out there to sit and wallow in the negative. Seek the positive and you will be amazed at what it can do for you.

Here are some photos from the day (click to enlarge)…SMILE!!