Two things I saw online recently

One I immediately ignored and one I took to heart...and wrist

I saw something online recently - it was advice to people who send out newsletters, and it said "your reader's inbox is not your therapy session." Excuse me? It's not? Um...what if that is my brand? I'm pretty sure that is the only purpose for this newsletter, really. I hope you all know that this is basically what you signed up for. 

I obviously ignored this completely. 

I saw another thing online recently - someone was talking about adulthood and how it's an opportunity to use our gained wisdom and disposable income to really lean into and enjoy the things that brought us joy when we were young. I sat and thought about that and it really sparked something inside of me. YES. Adulthood can be so devoid of JOY. And…why? We finally have the means to enjoy things. Why do we make ourselves leave that joy behind in our youth?

I liked that online wisdom so much that I went out and got this tattoo last weekend:

“It's not much of a tail, but I'm sort of attached to it.”

I have always absolutely loved Eeyore. My bedroom was full of Eeyores as a teenager, I wore Eeyore tshirts purchased from the Disney store as fashion, my senior yearbook has a photo of me with Eeyore at Disneyland, my high school car had a license plate frame that said "we can't all, and some of us don't" - one of Eeyore's more depressing little sayings. 

It's callled fashion, look it up.

I was an Eeyore girlie, for sure. 

I don't remember what drew me to the sad little donkey as a teen - maybe it was his "Thanks for noticin' me" (which I now have on an enamel pin on my denim jacket). I've always felt completely overlooked, forgettable and on the outside of things (feelings that continue to this day, if we're being honest - welcome to the therapy portion of the post), and I think I related to that side of Eeyore's glum personality.

Eventually I got rid of my Eeyores. I was a grown up*, after all, and grown ups shouldn't really wear cartoon characters on their clothes or have little Disney trinket collections , right?

My parents have been remodeling their garage, so boxes of my old stuff have been showing up at my house for me to go through.

My parents paid actual money for this

One box was absolutely full of my old Eeyores, and looking through them brought me so much joy. I recently bought myself a weighted Eeyore at Disneyland recently that brought me so much joy. I took a picture with Eeyore at at the parks recently, too, just like I did when I was younger. Guess what? Joy. 

So...the tattoo. Partly because I fucking love Eeyore. And partly because I want the little reminder that just because I'm an Old now, I don't have to give up the things that brought me joy as a kid. In fact, I have more means to embrace them even more fully now. And so far this little tattoo is making me burst with joy every time I see it.

Does this mean I will now buy All The Eeyores? I mean...maybe? But, really, I'm just really deciding that I'm embracing, as part of my Fuck It 40s, the things that really do make me happy, no matter what they are, and many of those things are things I loved as a kid. Musical theater? Yup. Disney shit? Absolutely. Is this something I need therapy beyond your inbox for? Possibly? But who cares. 

As Eeyore says, “a trifling matter, and fussy of me, but we all have our little ways.”

* Was I? Am I? This is all debatable.