Linds and I have a favorite periodical. We'd bonded over its informative articles and witty tidbits in our apartment: The Best Mascara; The Stress Less Dinner Party; Eating Chocolates And Dancing in the Kitchen: How Dining on Dove Promises, Doing the Cha-Cha and Running the Whirlpool Will Get You the Guy; The DIY Breakdown: Become Bob Vila, Martha Stewart, Mother Teresa, and Bear Grylls Without Leaving Your Home. (So I made those up, but they were somewhat along those same lines). We read aloud our favorite parts and copied down favorite quotes. Then when Lindsay went home for the summer, the same sort of back-and-forth would ensue over the phone or via email. This was our Little Black Book; our Go-To Manual for Life. It had all the answers. I mean, the article that told us which bathroom stall to choose to avoid the most germs?! Come on! Talk about your life saving information! I think about it every time I'm in a public restroom.It's right there in the title. Real Simple: life made easier. Here's the thing - time (and a lot of issues of this fabulous mag) have told me that all along, the answers to life's most pressing questions (foolproof stain removal, how to find the best trench coat for your body type, the number of flowers a bee has to tap to make one pound of honey) are right under my nose. Heaven bless the people of Real Simple who spend hours entertaining and informing. I appreciate it (two words: bathroom stall). But, at the end of the day, it's you against the world. You're in charge. You call the shots. Pay the bills. Deal with the consequences of staying up an extra hour to see if Conan does his string dance. You deal with the frustration of caving and calling that guy whose number you thought you'd deleted out of your cell phone. While those things seem overwhelming at times (That thing about the bees? I've always wondered) and you don't know how you'll ever make it through, you will. You do.
Tonight, as I closed the cover of my Real Simple (the last page one woman's plea for a 32-hour day and jeans that make her look like Cameron Diaz) I looked over at my giant-sized To Do's for the rest of the week/the month/my life with the realization that I may not check off some of those things for quite some time, but I know I will. And there's not a magazine out there that's better than the voice in my head, telling me to grit my teeth and jump in. With both feet. It's not going to be easy, but it's Life. And life isn't simple, no matter what magazines say. Isn't it the least simple things that are the most worth it? I'll get there, one check at a time.
2 comments:
I can't tell you how excited I am that you wrote a blogpost about the thing I trust most (after the scriptures of course). My latest literary work, in fact, is writing an "Ode: to Real Simple." Okay maybe that's not true, but again, how can you even begin to show your appreciation for a magazine that investigates how many germs are in what stall? That's what I call true friendship. That, in fact, is what Real Simple is, a true friend. Thank-you for publicizing our appreciation for our true friend throughout the years :)
all too often do i stay up an hour later hoping the conan does his string dance. although stephen colbert has my heart these days conan will always be there. you never forget your first late night comedic love.
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