The Battle Between Wants and Needs

I keep telling people that my life is going to slow down in a day or two, but my life has made a liar out of me.

So I'm here now, taking just a few moments to throw a few more thoughts out to you, Internet.

Before I start, just listen to Jake Armerding's song, "The Fleece," and you'll know where I'm coming from.

I've been very selfish these past few months, choosing things that I want... no... things that I crave, and completely ignoring the things that I need.

When it comes to an apple or a piece of cake, 11 times out of 10 I'll choose the cake. Buy new clothes or put money into savings? How about both? Oops. Nevermind. It's all about the clothes.

Here lately, discussions with friends have [inevitably] led to talks of who our "Mr. Perfect" or "Ms. Perfect" will be.

He'll be funny. He'll know how to dress nice [and appreciate the days of lounging in sweats]. He'll be attractive. He'll at least pretend to like to dance. He'll love music almost as much as I do. He'll understand both my artsy side and my analytical side. He'll be close enough to my level of spirituality, physical activity and mental stability that we'll enjoy being together, but far enough away that we'll be able to challenge each other to grow together.

When I'm considering who I'm going to spend the rest of my life with, it becomes a lot more difficult to distinguish between what I want and what I need. And let's face it, the older I get, the more stubborn I get... and the more stubborn I get, the narrower the pool of what I consider "eligible" bachelors gets.

But then there comes a time when being single becomes really old, and all I want is to have that romantic connection. So I start to think I'd settle for what's less than "Mr. Perfect" or "Ms. Perfect."

I was just about at this point when a new friend of mine, Blake Lindley, suggested I listen to a few of Jake's songs. I instantly fell in love with "The Fleece," and have probably listened to it at least 37 times in the past week.

The chorus just drove the point home. "I never, never need the one I want." "I never, never want the one I need."

So world wide web. Here it is. I'm not settling. Are you?

Welcome to 2009.

Sure, we're more than a week into it, but I think it takes about that long to get settled in. We're all recovered from the holidays. We're back into a semi-regular routine at work. We're pumped because the first week of 2009 is significantly better that all 52 weeks of 2008 could have ever hoped.

And then we get sick.

Everyone is sick. Including myself.

So, world wide web, I'm here to tell you that this cold will not bring me down. [And yes, ELO is serenading me with "Don't Bring Me Down" right now.]

Though achy all over, I am still happy. Why?

I ran four miles yesterday [and lived to tell about it]. Maggie and I met some cute new friends at the new place. I've got some exciting new projects to work on. The list goes on...

So even though I may feel like I'm going to die, I am still smiling because life is good.

How has 2009 treated you so far?