Newton Notes: Rule #32...

I love it when my low expectations for something are unexpectedly exceeded. It could be anything... a day of work, a new recipe, the weather, etc. Most recently, I was pleasantly surprised by a movie that Jonas had been bugging me to watch for awhile now: Zombieland. I mean, let's think about it. I hate scary movies, and apparently this one was about zombies. It could be scary, it could be stupid, or even worse, it could be both. In addition, I am not a huge fan of spoofs, and I vaguely remembered hearing that this was a satirical spin on zombie movies. In short, horror spoofs are probably at the top of my list for movie genres I aspire to avoid.

That being said, I really liked Zombieland. Aside from the first 10 minutes, which was ridiculous and gory, I found there was a lot to appreciate in this movie. Yes, it is about zombies. And yes, it is ludicrous 99% of the time. But it was also surprisingly funny, and it even made me think a little bit. Aside from all sorts of symbolism and parallels that one could dwell on, the main character has a list of "rules" in order to survive. Some are funny, such as Rule #3: Beware of Bathrooms, while others are quite insightful. My favorite of them all though, is Rule #32: Enjoy the little things.

How unexpectedly awesome that a movie such as Zombieland can remind us to appreciate the little things in life. It is such a simple idea, yet so hard for many of us to apply in our lives. Since watching this movie a couple of weeks ago, I've made a conscious effort to notice and revel in the little pleasures life brings us. Here are some of the things at the top of my list...

1. Being silly. It's funny... we adults think we have it all figured out. But there are few things more fun than throwing all of our inhibitions aside and acting like a crazy kid again.

2. A child’s laughter. Lately, I have gotten the privilege to spend a lot of time with my nephew Wyatt. When he laughs, it is simply contagious. There is something about a baby/child laughing that makes you smile along with them, even if you have no idea what they are laughing at.

3. Sibling love. While many of us grow up thinking we just despise our brothers/sisters, deep down we really love 'em. Besides, who else would you have gnawed on without your siblings around?

4. Motherly love. Simply put, there is no love sweeter or more true than that between a mother and her child(ren).

5. Someone (good) to love. It is so simple in theory, but hard to actually find. I am lucky that I have found mine :)

6. A (nice) day at the beach. On the surface, last year's Valentines Day, which we spent in Kauai, seems hard to beat. But in all honesty, this year was just as great as last year. A nice day at the Oregon Coast spent with my two loves was I needed to have a happy heart :)

7. Living in Oregon. For the last couple of weeks, the weather around here has been AWESOME. Last weekend, we even got to go hiking on the Rogue River with Jessie and Luke.