March 28, 2021

Affirmators! Week 6: Joy

Affirmators! are cards with positive affirmations written on them. My friend John sent me a deck of them and I've been drawing one from the deck each Sunday. I hang it on my bathroom mirror to keep it in the front of my mind and try to work on that topic through the week. That's what this Affirmators! post series is about.

Last week my Affirmators! card was "Playfulness" and I worked on being more playful in general throughout the week. I really like that these affirmation cards actually DO make me more aware of my attitude, and I thought about the Playfulness card frequently.

A couple of funny stories:

Jerry had read my blog post about Playfulness and he really liked that I was going to work on being more playful. The next evening, I was playing Best Fiends on my iPad and he sat down next to me. He jokingly hovered his finger over the power button on my iPad and looked at me with a grin like he was going to turn it off while I was mid-level.

I immediately wanted to say, "No! Don't do it!" but then I knew he was testing me--pushing my buttons to see if I would be light-hearted about it ("playful") or get mad. So, I smiled sweetly and said, "Go ahead".

Jerry got a look of doubt on his face and I could almost SEE the gears working in his head--he wanted to push the power button but wasn't sure what my reaction would be. I said (in a nice, calm voice), "I dare you. Push it! See what happens." (I wouldn't be mad if he did... but I wanted to kind of push him back to see if he would actually do it.)

He hesitated some more, and then sighed and sat back. He said, "I can't do it. I'm scared of you."

Hahaha! I guess I really do need to be more playful ;)

After my sunglasses were stolen from my car a few weeks ago, we ended up buying security cameras. Jerry really wanted them and I finally caved. I always feel uncomfortable at people's houses when they have security cameras, or even when I just walk past someone's house that has them. It feels like people are watching me. So I always resisted buying them for our house.

Jerry gets an alert on his phone when the cameras turn on (motion activated). Last night before bed, I was letting Joey outside at around midnight. I had the idea to do something "playful" and I grabbed a flashlight and stood on the porch. I faced the nearest camera and then held the flashlight under my chin up toward my face. Then I waved my arms around and pretended like I was screaming, and then made a goofy face. I wasn't sure if Jerry would watch it (he was at work) but since it was midnight and there was an alert, I figured he would.

I turned to go inside and when I opened the door, Phoebe ran outside. (Our cats are strictly indoor cats, but Phoebe would sell her soul to be able to go outside freely. We have foxes and coyotes and predatory birds and other things that could hurt her right across the street--so if she sneaks out, we go after her until we can catch her.)

I yelled, "Damnit Phoebe!!" and ran after her. Joey got all excited and started coming with me, which only made Phoebe go farther. I yelled, "Joey, no! Go on!" and then was chasing after Phoebe. I finally got her (not before she ate enough grass to throw up when she came inside) and I texted Jerry to see if he saw the whole charade. It was then that I learned the cameras actually have sound and not just video! 

So, when I was making goofy faces at the camera, I'd only pretended to scream (thinking that the video was silent) but then I was swearing while running around chasing after the pets in the yard. Hahaha, the joke was definitely on me.

As a whole, I think I did good with this affirmation through the week. Jerry said he noticed that I wasn't letting little things get to me as much. At the very least, I made an effort. And I plan to continue with it, being more playful whenever I can.

Now, on to this week's card...


To enjoy something, I simply need to add joy to it. Joy is like butter--I can put it on anything and it'll make it way better. Today, I will add joy to everything, really slather it on. Today, I am the Orville Redenbacher of joy. And life's popcorn is about to get it.

This one is very fun! Except if I had the ability to add joy to everything, I totally would have done it by now. I wish that I could just "think happy thoughts" and be happy all the time. I can't control my emotions, unfortunately.


Jerry and I use the simple phrase, "Throw strikes!" regarding trying to control something you have no control of. We started using this phrase because it drives us both CRAZY when we are at the kids' baseball games and the coach or parents yell to the pitcher, "Throw strikes!" ...because what do they think the pitcher is *trying* to do?!

For example, if Jerry is nervous about something, I might say, "Don't be nervous. Throw strikes!" It's kind of like saying that I know he's nervous and I wish I could help, but there isn't anything I can say that will make him not be nervous.

Adding joy to everything is like throwing strikes. I'm always *trying* to be happy and feel joy. But whether I actually feel that way or not is the umpire's call.

This week, I'm going to lump this card in with last week's card... I'm going to look for ways to be more playful and while I'm at it, I'll try to sprinkle some joy here and there ;)

2 comments:

  1. As always, you two are entertaining and inspiring! Love the way you're using these cards. Will def adopt "Throw strikes!"

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  2. So oddly enough, had a really pertinent conversation with my therapist last week over a similar topic. I feel like I'm trying to do better and take steps forward, but I am not feeling it. She challenged me to "look for the joy in everything I do". Not try to fake feeling joy. But to evaluate even the mundane things on my to do list. For example, she pointed out she had a really full schedule that day and was going to be a little harried seeing like 8 patients. She said she could look at that as something stressful, or look at it like "what a joyful thing - I get to help 8 people today to try to live their best lives". So seeking to appreciate that I am able to have this day and finding joy in all the little and big ways. Today I took 5 seconds to appreciate a pretty sunrise as I snapped the beans for tonight's dinner before work (and I will appreciate those beans already being snapped when I am probably in a rush to make dinner). Choosing joy is the goal even if you kind of have to force it a bit or find it after the fact. So maybe that is the point of the card. Anyway - love the cards! Love this series.

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