A Tubing Story

July 15, 2008

I had the best time last night with my friend, Lana. That girl will make you laugh until you cry. The way she spins a story is genius. She can take the littlest interactions we experience together and turn it into the funniest, most relatable piece of comic genious. I can’t stand it.

What would I do without my friends?

So last night our server walked up to the table to take our order. We ordered. Quickly. Cause we’re boring and we were only having chips and dip. So we said, “sorry we’re not getting much.”

To which the nice young lady responded by saying she was glad we were only getting chips because,

She got hurt when being pulled by a boat on a tube yesterday.
Her hand was stuck in the handle, so she couldn’t let go.
There was a lot of bouncing and waviness, which caused her to “pencil dive.”
The driver couldn’t tell she was in distress.
Therefore the driver continued to drive with her hand folded over, stuck in the handle.
She was at a family reunion when the incident occurred and states she will never go back.
She runs a daycare during the day and needed to be left alone because of her pain.
She had to call her boyfriend to help her get out of bed in the morning.
She was unable to sit the entire day.

I don’t exactly know what her story had to do with Lana and I ordering chips. I think she meant it was a relief to not have to carry heavy plates of food to our table, but I’m not sure. Mostly I think she just really needed to tell her story.

What I think is most interesting is how long Lana and I discussed how some people can just talk to anyone, strangers who they’ve never talked to before. Then there are those of us who worry too much about what people think, and could never bring ourselves to tell such a story to strangers in a restaurant.

We were waxing psychological about caring what people think when I started to wish I had a lime. I looked around for our server. She was flipping a spatula at the tortilla stand, so I pointed her out to Lana, saying she was busy and we’d have to wait for her. To which Lana responded, “that can’t be good for her wrist.”

In that moment we cared a bit because we knew her story. I got to thinking later about how I said to Lana, “wow, people really need someone to listen to them, don’t they?” We all do. Some of us tell our stories to spouses or friends. Some to complete strangers. Some of us have a shrink. And some of us blog. We just need someone to listen. To validate and to care. So badly that we spend a lot of time finding ways to talk about ourselves.

So I was forced to admit that I blog largely for that reason. I can say all I want about community and giving back to other moms. And I mean that too. But I also do this for me. I neglected to mention that in my previous post. So there you have it.

It’s because I want people to listen to my stories, validate me, and care. We all need that and I think it may be the number one reason why so many people blog. Since I can’t bring myself to tell my tubing stories to strangers in public, I do it here. And that’s the truth.

{ 3 comments }

Kimberly July 15, 2008 at 1:00 pm

I have to warn you, I didn’t used to be able to talk to strangers, or tell stories to people I already know.

After two years of blogging? Well, good luck getting me to shut up. =P

Sabrina July 15, 2008 at 6:40 pm

I’m in the same boat (oooh no pun inteded with the whole tubing story. nice)… anyway People I know would laugh when I say that I am painfully shy, especially around strangers or new people. That is why i like my blog… i can tell my little stories and not be nervous that people think im strange. Well they can think im strange, but behind my back!

charrette July 16, 2008 at 1:50 am

I stopped by from a link on Kimberly’s blog, and I’m glad I did.

Funny, my post today was about the same topic, from a slightly different angle. But I totally covered that need to share and that need to be validated.

Blogging can be pure therapy.

Comments on this entry are closed.

Previous post:

Next post: