I forget that the end of daylight savings time means everything is darker sooner, which makes me a little sad.
But on some bright notes! It was a fun Halloween weekend (“Halloweekend”, whatever), the weather has been beautiful, I’ve {nearly} cried of joy several times this weekend, and God is super good.
clouds doing cool cloud things on Friday
I didn’t even do anything on Halloween, but I did dance my butt off at a Halloween party hosted by the Catholic Center on Friday! I danced pretty much non-stop all night. I had been craving a dance party since the wedding I attended this summer, and dance parties always remind me why I named this blog daily moves and grooves.
Plus, I dressed up as my favorite thing ever…
peanut butter!
…along with my best friend, Jelly (aka Rachel). Rachel was the one who suggested this duo costume, and it seemed perfect for several reasons. I probably emit the smell of peanut butter on a daily basis already, so I was halfway there from the get-go.
Several cookies fueled my dancing for the night, but I didn’t even have any candy this weekend! I wasn’t avoiding it by any means; I just never encountered any candy that I wanted. Cookies, cake, dining hall desserts sounded better. #snobby
On Saturday morning some of my friends and I from the Boston University Students for Life club participated in the Out of the Darkness Suicide Awareness and Prevention Walk. Suicide awareness is something near and dear to many of us in one way or another, so it was a blessing to walk with so many other people (especially college students) in solidarity and support.
I look really tall in this picture, but that’s an optical illusion
Also, they had free Stonyfield “Oh My Yog!” yogurt at the walk. We all ate it and agreed that it was some next level yogurt. This was the gingered pear flavor. Ooo la la!
trilayer? whole milk? CREAM TOP!?!?
Saturday night was wild and crazy with lots of studying with Rachel (or at least, a lot of attempting to study on my part). I can let myself get very distracted with social media, and I very much dislike myself every time it happens. But it was Halloween, so I made myself think I was justified.
{As I just come back from 20 minutes on my Instagram feed. HELP.}
Anyway, the other nooks and crannies of this weekend were filled with Mass, choir, eating, some exercise, and best of all, truly awesome people.
Let me tell you something. I have three types of days when it comes to interacting with people:
- Normal day: Happy to see my friends, interact with strangers politely.
- Especially negative day: Yo, people are the worst. I want Jesus to be my only friend ever.
- Especially positive day: PEOPLE ARE AMAZING. HELLOOOOO, BEAUTIFUL STRANGER, YOU’RE GREAT!
If my especially positive days occurred all the time, I’d probably end up losing friends because of my insanity.
In all seriousness though, more of the negative, mundane, or irking interactions with that I can have with some people (strangers or not) have lately been transformed into meaningful and fruitful interactions. For example, I can learn about virtue, reflect on my faith life, or be urged to evaluate my actions. In addition, regular interactions with friends have been deepened.
What is the “secret” to this transforming and deepening? I think it’s something I learned yesterday: shared life.
In other words: sharing your experiences with others and being genuinely interested and excited about others’ experiences, and then learning and growing with one another as a result!
Grab a meal with someone. Ask someone what his idea of a perfect day is. Ask your gal friend how her heart is doing (figuratively, not the actual organ…but you could ask that too). Tell him about your dream job. Describe to her what made you happy or sad this weekend.
Some people may not care about what you have to say, but that doesn’t mean you can’t care for another person. Humans are awesome, and sometimes they’re just waiting for someone to be interested in them (personally, not romantically…but that could be true too).
By no means is it easy for me to “share life” with others. I think I will always have those especially negative days/moments when I feel like I need to be in a bubble, please and thank you. Nevertheless, in general, by sharing more about myself and by being more interested in other people, I have learned a lot about myself and about other amazing human beings. It’s really cool.
my girl Fiona shared this with me last night
P.S. That’s what makes blogging really cool!!!
So tell me:
Did you dress up or do anything in particular for Halloween?
Did you eat any sweet treats this weekend?
What made you happy or sad or angry or anxious this weekend?
Daily Moves and Grooves 
I have the exact same types of days haha! I think most people do, sometimes you just need alone time to figure stuff out for yourself and then after that you’re golden! I loved your halloween costume btw, so clever haha:)
I didn’t dress up this weekend, but I did go over to a friend’s to watch movies and hand out candy… which I may or may not have indulged in between trick-or-treaters. It actually ended up raining here, so even the kids gave up after a little while. I would have killed to go dancing, though — it’s been too long since I’ve unleashed my inner Dancing Queen.
Alison. You were peanut butter. You are freaking hilarious. So easy but it’s creative!!!! LOVE IT.
I completely agree with you on viewing other people. I used to be extremely self-centered (oof, it hurts typing that), but the minute I realized how many people invested in me, I knew I needed to make a change. I started to really listen to people. To hear what they were trying to say. I learned that everyone has incredibly intricate lives, and I want to know as much of their experience on this world as possible.
I was Princess Anna from Frozen and I ate a lot of Reese’s this weekend. 🙂
I frickin love dance parties too. The best. I also am obsessed with your costume because what else would Alison be? 😉 I love what you said about people and I needed the reminder. It’s easy to think of yourself as separate from others, as well, and forget that EVERYONE has a story and so much below the surface. You’re such a good sweet soul.
So much truth girl! I can be so caught up in my own stuff and anxiety that I never look up and let myself relax and share and take in others. Human interaction is so important (even when humans aren’t particularly my cup of tea that day) and It’s something I have to keep reminding myself to do more.
That costume=epic!!!!!!;)
And I did have some peanut M&ms this weekend. Can’t let that candy go to waste right?! Plus protein and fats?!👍🏼
Have a great week Alison!!!
You are epic. Sharing experiences- This.
I’m actually laughing at the optical illusion. The poor girl in the middle must be the height of a tooth pick!
‘Especially positive day: PEOPLE ARE AMAZING. HELLOOOOO, BEAUTIFUL STRANGER, YOU’RE GREAT!’
I love this, because it reflects so much of what I feel like on an extraordinarily great day. Your honesty makes me think about my own interactions with others, and it makes me cringe, laugh, and smile all in one. And yes, I completely agree that one of the best ways to get to know, to care, to make friendships is to share life together. I think that’s why my family are my best friends + the friends who I’ve done almost everything with.
And I totally love that you did peanut butter and jelly complete with nutrition facts. 😉 I may have to steal that idea someday.
Yep, people are awesome, people are the best, and people are awful horrible terrible the WORST. But they are awesome, people are the best. Word.
Love this post (as usual 😉)! But yeah, I’m the same way with people. When I’m having a bad day, I’m usually a grump, and don’t want to talk to anyone. 😀
I didn’t dress up, but I do want to make a costume for myself sometime. We don’t usually do anything for Halloween, but I like the idea of dressing up! (I loved your costume…too perfect!)
I was anxious about my grandmother’s health this weekend. She had a couple strokes after having heart surgery, and she was making very slow progress. We didn’t know how it was all going to end, and in a way we still don’t know, but she is doing much better now, and made huge improvements today, which is great.
Oh, Alison, I love your description of the three types of days!!! Hilarious…and me too! 😂 Thank you for this reminder…once again, a very good and thought-provoking post!
I didn’t dress up as anything, but my cousin dressed up as a package of Top Ramen, and he and all his friends went as different food items. I thought that sounded like something that was right up my street, and then you post about dressing up as peanut butter!! Such a funny coincidence! We should start a food costume trend. 😜
Sweet treats…I don’t know about over the weekend, but I just sampled these cookies my aunt bought which she says are the best ever. They were pretty good, and I actually surprised myself by loving the oatmeal raisin one (especially considering I’m a die-hard chocoholic).
My grandma’s double stroke after heart surgery has been the scariest experience this last week, and in my whole life. Scary, heartbreaking and beyond difficult in so many ways. But there are good things that have come because of it, though sometimes it seems so cruel to her to enjoy those things, because if everything had gone as planned and she was 100% normal, none of these special things would be happening.
Oh my gosh your costume was the CUTEST!
I didn’t dress up, but my BF and I ended up adopting a black kitten on Halloween so it was probably one of the most memorable ever 🙂 He’s adorable!