Maybe I'll be Eccentric

One of the blogs I follow is The Badass Geek (http://www.thebadassgeek.com/) Badass is a very talented and humorous writer. I especially enjoy his posts where he describes odd and downright weird people he encounters. Since I started to force myself to break out of my usual routine, I've had a few of those encounters myself.

Yesterday as I drove an alternate route to the grocery store, I spotted a mature woman strolling down the sidewalk. (Since I joined the AARP crowd I cringe at using terms such as elderly or senior.) She was well dressed in exercise apparel and looked like a typical walking-for-fitness pedestrian except she had two large bright pink cylinders clamped to the back of her head. I wondered if she was aware of them or if she just got distracted in her morning routine and started her walk before she finished combing her hair. Would another walker point them out to her? Or, would she get home and realize that she’d done her two miles with round pink rollers bouncing at the back of her head. Did she really intend to go out in public with two random pink plastic curlers at the back of her head? Perhaps she has just gotten to that point in her life where she does what she pleases…to hell with what anyone thinks!

I’ve had days where a disruption in my routine led me to forget to complete a customary task. I haven’t left the house with rollers in my hair, but I’ve been known to forget deodorant or to end my shower without washing out cream rinse. A ringing telephone or a question from my husband is enough to throw me off track.  Now if forgetting my grooming routine were a habit, I might be eligible for eccentric status…that odd stinky woman with the stringy hair.

I’m not going for eccentricity; I’m working on developing that “to hell with what anyone thinks” attitude.  That's a good goal for retirement.