This One is All About... Having Fun.
Because sometimes, just sometimes, there doesn't need to be a point.
Friends,
The CDC announced that vaccinated people do not have to wear masks outdoors. Hallelujah! 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾
That's all I have to say about that—kind of.
When I heard the news, I was hit with a wave of emotions ranging from total panic to a manic level of excitement that almost led me to strip completely naked, strap on a pair of rollerblades*, and speed down Central Park West singing Adele's Rolling in the Deep at the top of my lungs.
The most surprising realization that hit me as I took my first (sans-mask) steps out of my NYC apartment and onto the busy-ish sidewalk outside of my apartment was how long it had been since I had seen people smile. Not my family or the few friends we continued to socialize with, but rather the passing smiles of total strangers in mid-conversation, on the phone, or simply daydreaming as they stroll by. It got me thinking about how much our mental health has been affected simply because we were deprived of the unexpected and latent dopamine hits we receive when we experience brief moments of simple happiness, even if they sit at the very edge of our field of vision.
It also got me thinking about the role these newly reintroduced smiles will play in boosting our happiness and energy as we begin to fully reenter society. As it so happens, a paper published in 2019 detailed the results of a study on the very topic of whether facial expressions have any impact on our own emotional state. Apparently, it does. 🤷🏾♂️
Suppose a random smile or frown can have an impact on our emotional state. In that case, I wonder what kind of impact I had on those strangers who walked by me as I sang quietly, but still audibly, the following mashup while walking my dogs:
Old McDonald had a farm, e-i-e-i-o,
And on that farm, he had a Baby Shark, e-i-e-i-o,
With a do do do here and a do do do there,
Here a do, there a do, everywhere a do do…
Yeah… I've totally gone off the deep end.
In other news, one of the dogs had stomach issues for a couple days which, on top of Nico's potty training and Coco beginning to eat solid foods, created a weekend dynamic that made me fully believe the words of a microbiologist who said, in an old article in The Cut, "we, as a society, are literally bathed in feces."
Parenting is fun. We have fun around here. 💩💩💩
01. Keep an eye on those thieving bastards…
Nico got ahold of my wife's phone for a few minutes. No big deal, right? I mean, he's just two-and-a-half. What damage can he do?
Three days later, a $30 dinosaur playset with an active volcano showed up at our front door. He played dumb.
The takeaway: Don’t get me wrong, the actual set was AMAZING and I would have kept it for myself if not for my wife’s watchful eye. That said, we're reporting our credit cards as stolen, have put our bank accounts on a watch list, all of our valuables in a safety deposit box at our bank, and installed cameras in every single room. We're going to catch that little punk in the act if it's the last thing we do.
02. Bennifer²
Apparently, the early-2000s power relationship that led to the song that not only nearly destroyed his career but also nearly destroyed my belief in the positive power of music is back with a vengeance. Supposedly. Maybe.
The takeaway: This has nothing to do with parenting, though one can extract the learning that we should go into life with an open mind and a hopeful attitude. At the very least, it has reintroduced above-mentioned-song into my brain. It also seems to the perfect amount of pop culture nostalgia we had no idea we needed right now, but we clearly do.
03. The Killers are headlining Firefly
There is good in the world. The universe is actually looking out for me. That's all.
The takeaway: I was not planning to attend a music festival this year because of my over-the-top anxiety about touching another human that isn't my wife or kids. But the Vegas boys are back and co-headlining a lineup with Billie Eilish and Lizzo (😍)!! THIS is just the right amount of awesome that is going to bring me back.
04. Don’t be like Bill Gates
His wife is bailing (escaping?), his homey committed suicide (assassinated?) in prison, he grossly mishandled (ignored?) a harassment claim against his money manager, and engaged in (at least?) one affair. 🤔 Sounds crazy? Don't listen to me; listen to the New York Times.
The takeaway: He also doesn't pay much (anything?) in taxes, so there's that too.
05. The MF Bookshelf
Currently Reading: Nothing. I’ve been buried in work. I hate myself for not reading. I’ll get back to it.
On deck: Nothing. 👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽👆🏽
Watching: This video of Twenty-One Pilots doing an Oasis cover.
* I don’t own rollerblades, though I’m thinking about getting a pair for just this reason if it ever presents itself again.