sweet, sweet june...

there's something about old people that just gets me. today at my first day with meals-on-wheels (look grandma reynolds! i'm doing something nice!) i think i had a handful of heart palpitations over the cuteness. i met with my trainer at the senior center this afternoon and was immediately greeted with a warm hello and the smell of perfectly portioned 600-calorie lunches (today they were serving fishsticks + potato wedges!). we hopped in her kia and started on our route.

vickie, that's her name, gave me a quick briefing of the elderly people on the route; "erma's kind of a hoarder, nellie will always try and feed you...don't accept..., kathy just got a pacemaker, and norma recently lost her husband."

oh.

when we arrived at the first house, the sweetest old lady answered and immediately told us all about the problems with her catheter. before we left, she gave us a plate of brownies and neighborhood comment and remarked how very loud my voice was...dangit...

the next old man was perfectly grumpy. he was blind in one eye and had a television bigger than my small blue camry. he explained to us that if he sat any closer to the television, he would be on the other side! 

but our last stop was my favorite. sweet, sweet june. june answered the door in a loud floral mumu and danced her way to the couch. she started telling us about her latest adventure: toaster ovens. she had picked one up at the thrift store that week and was just itching to cook something, anything, in it. 

"june, you are always so happy. why are you so happy?" vickie asked as june perched on the edge of the couch with a walker to her left. she had the biggest smile on her face.

"well, there's no other way to be, now is there? all you can really do is keeping moving, praying, and smiling. that's it." june replied.

she wished us a happy, happy thanksgiving and asked vickie to dance with her a bit before she left. june swayed side to side and laughed hysterically. 

sweet, sweet june! as vickie and i drove off we talked about getting old. 

"don't you just want to be a june?" vickie asked me.

.................................................

isn't that just the sweetest? i just want to be a june! wear a busy mumu unapologetically and exude happiness like sweet, sweet june.

p.s.  i secretly wanted to be at the midnight showing of twilight tonight. secretly. 

p.p.s. the said-hoarder really was a hoarder! it was crazy!  apparently she has a cat too. somewhere? 

p.p.p.s. happy happy day for my cousin sean! she's engaged!

tonight.

…i cracked.

remember how i talked about eating healthier? pfffffft (the flavor of the month was mint oreo! MINT OREO, people!).

i justified my craving by explaining that i had a sore throat and had walked up a lot of stairs that day and it was that time of the month and…

MINT OREO (it’s only the flavor of the month for FOUR more days, i had to act quickly!)

2012.

• let reality television show times, diet coke, and inevitable ‘fat days’ dictate less of my life and mood.
• be nice to myself. well, nicer. like, repeat ‘i’m beautiful!’ mantra in the mirror each morning type nice.
• improve my manners, please and thank you!
• improve my relationship with my heavenly father. i want us to become bff’s this year. i want to be the type of friends that are in 24/7 contact in which one conversation begins where the other one ended and there is seemingly no disconnect.
• read more.
• learn to master my camera (i am so excited for photography class!).
• get back to the place where exercising is fun and not just…painful.
• allow myself to be enveloped with happiness and gratitude. i feel like i have a lot to look forward to this year (italy!!!) and i want to be able to enjoy it 100%.
• enjoy everything about being 19. i will never be 19 again, after all. i want to truly soak in…19-ness.
• figure out what i truly love. i am in like with so many different things and really don’t have opinions on much. i am so…neutral. i want to begin to figure out what the heck makes my heart pitter patter and what i would be happy doing for the rest of my life…besides waking up next to james franco.
• blog lots.

bring it on, 2012!