dancing in the kitchen

lately, i catch myself in the act of doing something and then realize one of two things, either a) i'm back or b) my hair is short. i have to clean the kitchen once a week as my chore at my co-op, and this past monday, someone started playing the ps i love you soundtrack really loudly. my response? i started dancing while washing, drying and putting away the dishes and doing various other cleaning-type things. at one point, i distincltly remember thinking, ah yes, there is the girl i remember. she's different from the sad one that had been dwelling in my body lately.

i've been getting the same feeling while running. about 7 miles into my run every morning, i feel like i'm on top of the world. the last 3 miles always fly by and its a bummer to have to stop. i think part of this feeling is wrapped up in this other feeling i've been having--that my body works. i'm leaner than i've been in years and my body just feels like it works better. its nice to have that combined feeling of health and happiness. its nice to feel like my old self.

with respect to the other realization, this morning i started chuckling after i got out of the shower. with long hair, its easier to bend over and dry your hair (so its off your back and neck) and then stand back up after you've toweled it sort of dry. well, i had long hair for so long, i still do that, despite not having long hair at the moment. this morning, i even went to do the little hair flip one does after the whole drying thing. my hair is longer than it was, but it has not yet arrived at flipping length.

so the conclusion i've come to, which i sort of already knew, is that ridiculously simple things (like fresh air, a flower, walking to school, dancing in the kitchen) make me smile. last sunday was also a good example. i came back from a walk around the neighborhood to find a couple of my housemates hanging out on our front lawn. so i laid down in the grass and soaked up some sunshine. it felt amazing.

on an unrelated note, in thinking about all this stuff from the past, i think the take-home message from my life so far is: go after what you want. don't be afraid of failure and don't be afraid to be yourself. find other people who also enjoy the little things--laying the grass and smelling the roses with a couple friends makes the experience even better.