Being a Smurf

I recently came across a brief story I wrote back during my teenage days. I was a smurf at an amusement park. It was actually one of my more favorite jobs in life. I made friends that I am still in contact with today. We have character reunions from time to time and we all have fond memories of our time working in the character department. Here is the story I wrote.

                                           "Characters and Fruit Loops"

A typical day at Great America's character department is definitely an experience. You may be asking " What is a character department?". well it's a bunch of fruit loops who for some reason get a high putting on funny costumes and actually believing they are Scooby Doo or Papa Smurf. " Why would people do this?" there are a lot of reason. Sure those costumes are hot and they pay sucks, but despite that being a character or just escorting them ( to make sure they aren't killed by the public) and helping them get into and out of their costumes is an experience so different than most of us encounter in a life time. When I began working there as a an escort. You couldn't even pay me enough to get into one of those Smurf costumes and have to actually sweat. No thank you!. I was all "yeah I'm going to be escorting a bunch of animals". Well my attitude quickly changed. They train you to be the character and those people do it so well you believe " Yogi Bear" ( even though  you know it's a costume) and working so closely with them makes you feel as if they are your own property. Sure people get to take pictures with them and receive hugs but I got to see them almost everyday. When I cam into the park I'd see my babies ( As I call them) and I got royal treatment. I felt like telling people those people to eat their hearts out and say " He is mine". I also loved getting a bear hug from a gigantic stuff animal. Talk about making a person feel special.

My actual experience of charactering began when I was recruited to be a smurf in our parade. It was definitely harder than I ever imagined. I actually was sweating which was something I vowed I would never do. Here I was in this monkey suit. Why I did it partly because they asked me and mostly because I'd gotten so attached to this animals I wanted to see what they found so fulfilling about it. Well I did, having all those people wanting to see you and hug you. Especially the little ones who truly believed in Smurfs. Now don't get me wrong. It was not all peaches and cream. There are people believe it or not that are mean and non-believers of Smurfs. Since they don't like us they don't mind at all hitting or even trying things worse like setting Captain Caveman on fire!

The character complain all the time( well the people in the costumes) about it being too hot and they want twenty minute walks instead of thirtys ( which is a regular walk,except when the temperature goes above 85). They'll think of almost any stupid reason not to go out on their walk or to go out late. Even though after their half hour walk they have an equal amount of time for break. They tend to be lazy and get away with murder, but over all their decent people, at least I hope so since I am one of those fruit loops.

I loved working there probably the most because of the people I met. We were a large family of 30, but we were very close and we were constantly going out. Even if I never go back to the character family I'll always cherish the memories I have of Great America. So remember the next time you see a character think twice about hitting those characters. That person inside might be me!

Terminal

Recently I have found myself having a sort of anxiety attack before I fall asleep. A brief thought about my demise.  A brief acknowledgement that some day in the hopefully far future I will take my last breath and that will be the end of my existence here on earth. I believe in God and that he made the world. I have to because I refuse to believe this is all there is. I refuse to believe that the universe and planets just magically appeared. There has to be something more but when I have these moments of anxiety I am doubting my beliefs. I am doubting everything. If I only knew for sure that heaven existed and that all that have left before me are there waiting to welcome me when my time comes.

I wonder if as I get older my anxiety will get worse as I get closer and closer to old age. I wonder what 80 year olds or 90 year olds think before they go to sleep at night. Do they say a prayer of thankfulness for a good life in the event they don't wake up in the morning or do they too have anxiety that they will not see tomorrow. Maybe as you get older you look forward to death because you've lost your youth or your health prevents you from living fully. When living becomes challenging then why continue right?

I have always thought that life needed to be finite in order for us as humans to appreciate it. Having a time line keeps in focus that if we want to accomplish things we have a limited time to do it. If we lived forever we would procrastinate and possibly never get anything done because we'd have forever to do it. If  my life is finite I better get out that bucket list and start checking things off. I better make the most of my days and live fully in the moment. We don't know when our days will end. Luckily I've had this view of life since I was a teenager so the bucket list has always been a motivating factor in the choices I make. It guides my compass of what I do and where I go. When my time comes I want to know that I accomplished what I wanted and I have no regrets. I want to feel like I didn't waste my time but rather used it wisely, because yes we are all terminal.

Lean In

I found myself intrigued by the new book "Lean In" by Sheryl Sandberg. I heard mixed opinions about what she was advocating in regards to women & work. That rather than leaning away we need to lean in to what we are doing so I had to read it for myself.

I must say I really liked this book. I found it to state a lot of truths about women in general. The high expectations that are put upon us to try and have it all. Choosing children and being a mom over having a career. The guilt of working versus staying home. The judgement among women instead of support for the choices we make to work or not work. I think as a woman we have many challenges on all levels and it is ultimately up to us to make choices that work best for our lives. I don't judge women who choose to have a career and have children. Just because you have a child doesn't mean you need to stay home and be a mom. I also totally get women who want to stay home and be a mom because they feel it's important to raise their children. I cast no judgement on anyone's life choices but yet so many women do rather support one another.

 I personally think for myself there needs to be a balance between work and being a mom. Since I have to work to some degree I find that my husband has to pick up the slack while I'm away. If I was home all the time I don't see that happening. He's a team player by default. I also find I need time away from my children. I love them dearly but I also need to be an individual too.

Asiana Flight

On July 5th an Asiana flight crashed landed at SFO. The tail hitting the sea wall and then spinning to a stop just off the runway. The flight attendants immediately got the passengers evacuated before flames engulfed the plane. The airport was shut down for hours following the incident. 3 people died and many were seriously injured including some of the crew. The flights were applauded by the media for their heroic efforts in getting people off the plane. As a flight attendant it was nice to finally see flight attendants get the recognition they deserve. They did what they were trained to do which was to evacuate an airplane in 90 seconds or less. They inflated the slides, commanded their drills and got people off the plane. 

Since SFO is my home base I flew in and out of that airport seeing the Asiana flight on the side of the runway. A little un-nerving but definitely a vivid reminder of what can happen. Later it was moved to a remote area which also happens to be by the employee parking area I park at. Again a visual reminder of what can happen. Although I am reminded visually of the potential hazards of my job I also remind myself how incredibly safe air travel is. I do not fear for what may happen for I know I have no control of the what if's of life. I live each day fully and appreciate each day I am given.

Oh life

I haven't posted in awhile. I've been posting daily on another site called " oh life". I really like it because it brings me back to the days when I used to journal regularly. For years I wrote my thoughts in these small books. All my thoughts, dreams, and daily activities. I for some reason stopped when I got married except when I traveled. I even started journals for my kids but again I write very irregularly.

Oh Life sends me an email every night at 8pm. All I have to do is reply with whatever I want and hit send. It goes to an online journal which I can download at anytime. It's gotten me back into recording my daily activities. The silly mundane things that we often forget as time goes by.

I still like this blog because this is a place where I can write down more thought provoking thoughts versus the day to day life events which is what I am using Oh Life for.

Regardless of how I write I hope to continue writing so that I can leave something for my children to read when I am gone. Writing is a window into the soul. We don't always know what is happening inside the minds of others but through writing we get a glimpse.

Today's world versus yesterdays

As I have gotten older I have become a news junkie. I read the news and I find that the more I read the news the more disheartened I get with the way the world is going. I also find it to be full of gloom and doom stories. Everyday I read about someone killing someone else or killing groups of people. Police officers getting killed in the line of duty, or innocent children at school. I often wonder if the world my children are growing up in is going to be worse off than the one I grew up in. My childhood was fun and carefree. I used to play outside, ride my bike around the neighborhood, play in my backyard, walk to school. I wasn't worried about crazy people hurting me or kidnapping me. Today I would not let my children their bikes around the neighborhood for hours on end or play in the neighborhood down the street. Has the world gotten more stressful? I am perplexed as to why there is so much more violence. Do we blame video games, violent movies? lack of parent involvement children's lives?

What I'd really like to read in the news are stories of inspiration, triumphs of the human spirit, people doing good deeds in their communities, people helping strangers or random act of kindness. We should focus on the positives of our world and not all the negatives. I truly believe negatives bring on more negatives and positives bring about more positives. By focusing on the negatives we are giving power to the violence. We are maybe even encouraging people to replicate or go above what others have done that is heinous. Do we really want to bring attention to the people who cause harm? Let's focus on those that do good.

Just random thoughts on a Monday afternoon....