Bernie's mom has this cookout planned. See, she has a list of famous people that she would invite. The list is constantly being revised. She even shared this idea with an actor she sat next to on an airplane once, and yes, he is invited as well. He even has mentioned it in an occassional email to keep mom up to date on his next role.
I tell you...when, (not if, cause I know my mother in law, and if anyone can make this happen, she can!), yes, when this happens it will be the place to be and the time of your life.
I tease her about this but love the idea. See, I totally buy into it. I admire people. I admire the traits, talents, and experiences they have that I don't. I admire how we connect (or could if we ever met) on our similarities. So I have a list of people I would insist that she invite...for me.
When I was younger, this admiration was, well... to put it plainly, "wanting to be" that person. Not like or similar to, but to literally be that person...their looks, habits, skills, friends...One example is how I started biting my nails...because a "cooler girl" did. (Argh!) I begged my parents for "Youth Dew" perfume in 7th grade because the 8th grade cheerleader captain wore that. She also had lots of shoes and the most beautiful hair. In HS, I would push my seat back so I'd feel "shorter" needing to stretch to reach the car pedals because a girl I though was cool was way shorter than me.
Sometimes this admiration became straight out jealousy or bitterness. I won't even give examples of these very dark thoughts.
But with acceptance of yourself (I am continuously working on this) comes authentic admiration. The kind I spoke of earlier...the kind that leads me to dream up my own list for THE BBQ.
So, are you curious who is on that list? Well... (Not in any particular order)
1. Jason Mraz. You all know he's hot and talented, and I am obsessed. But the more I watch you tube interviews and read his blog the first (him being hot) goes out the window and I really just want to hang out with him. Plus, he says a lot of things (in his blog) that B says or would say and I think they'd be friends.
2. Jim from The Office. He is so funny and would be the best friend to team up with and play tricks on people. But, I want to add Pam, Michael, and Dwight to the list to see how the 4 of them interact in real life and not as their characters.
3. Paul Rudd. I've been a fan of his since Clueless. Same thing I said about "J" up there.
4. Gwenyth Paltrow. Naturally beautiful. Is she really that down to earth? Our kids are the same age...they'd play together and why Apple???
5. Jennifer Anniston. She also seems down to earth. And she's had her share of problems and heartbreaks but never goes nuts like Brittany or Lindsay.
6. Chris Daughtry. Wow...first I'd want him to play/sing with my husband--maybe even some worship songs. And I'd love to talk to him about how he came to believe and accept Christ.
7. David Cook. I love his quiet nature and devotion to his bros. Plus he was the first AI I wanted to win that actually did!
8. Kris Allen-- He's so young and humble. I'd love to talk to him and Katy about Christ-centered marriage and worship with them. I actually know someone who knows someone who knows him. That's only 3 degrees of seperation right? Ha!
9. Dave Matthews. His music (along with REM) was woven through my first years with Bernie. We evened went to the DMB concert for our first anniversary. Plus he knows Jason Mraz since they toured and it would be cool to see them hang together.
I am sure I have more...but I have to come back to reality.
I guess for now and until the end I will celebrate and admire people both near and far. I also hope that I can be interesting and joyful enough that I might be the object of someone elses authentic admiration. And someone may say to me "Will you be my friend?" .... And if it was one of the 9 listed above, well then, BONUS!
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