The Chill and Thrill of Newness

So I'm the second JO and I can't say that I have been running towards this first post; you might say that I have been running from it. You see, new things although exciting, inspiring, paradigm shifting, growth producing, higher heights lifting, mystery shattering, both eyes opening, sun burst smiling, puppy dog licking, 1st tooth extracting, one man banding, blistered hands callusing, heart strings strumming, frontier colonizing, history making, and generally fun and neat can be nothing more than an enigma wrapped in yesterday's hesitance stuffed into a foreboding gift bag and hand delivered by Postmaster reluctance himself. You could say that I'm not a new-things guy.

Now don't get me wrong I see people all the time doing "new things." Having fun, running in slow motion, poppies blooming under their feet, the enormous flaming gaseous sphere we call the sun assuming animated character and smiling down on all the people who do new things every day like it's nothing. New things are unpredictable, that's their appeal, they keep surprising you, well I say I may have a heart condition and what emergency care facility might I find myself in if I just threw my cares to the wind? An unexpected "new thing" could leave your heart palpapooped after all of the exciting new revelations gained.

An example from my childhood. Pictured here see a distraught five year old who has been the victim of hundreds of dollars spent on brand new Christmas present ski equipment, a long car ride to the slopes, kiddie pass and complementary beginner's lesson purchased, and approximately 37 seconds on the unabashedly not stable but very slick and wet and cold and again very not un-moving ground.

Although I did see the light some years later as is evidenced by my squinty eyes, crinkled nose and my awkward mom-gloves gripping my long-stored and newly revived ski equipment, I can still remember the bitter chill of the unknown I felt that Christmas season of 1986.


"New" has always been unnerving to me, been hard to swallow, hard to wash down no matter how much reassuring experience you chase it with. One new thing, however, which by the way tops all of the newness that you could ever consider, has never been 37 seconds on the snow for the first time for me, it has been and ever will be pure joy and that is marriage, being married to the love of my life, my Jenny Jayne.

Happy Four Months My Love. Four months ago my sweetheart and I went to the storage unit, dusted off the skis and started down the hill whizzing past new things like it's nothing. Here's to what's around that next bend.