In Between

I’m repeatedly surprised by the moments in life that feel intimate or revealing. I realizing that this is because the narratives that set my expectations have it all wrong. You see, the television shows and movies of my youth taught me that the moments I could expect to feel exposed, all involved unlocked bathroom doors and the backseats of sedans. Maybe it’s just me, but those instances have been a breeze. It turns out that in real life, literal “undress” does not translate to its metaphorical counterpart.

Meanwhile, the instances that do leave me feeling like I got caught with my pants down around my ankles are all horribly mundane. It’s the moment when an acquaintance happens to catch me on Bart struggling with my bag of dirty tupperware and sweaty gym clothes or someone strolls up to my desk to find me separating trail mix into fruit, nut and chocolate piles that I wish I could disappear. As crazy as it sounds, I don’t think I’m the only one that feels this way.

So why is it seemingly easier to meet an eligible lady or gent and take them home for the night, than it is to have someone catch you eating your favorite top ramen and cabbage snack? I think this stems from the fact that somewhere in the romance of an unexpected encounter we are freed from everyday minutiae. The novelty of the act or the adventure overshadows the pile of “Us” magazines that is sitting in the corner of your room or that weird patch of eczema that otherwise embarasses you to no end.

Enchanted or unusual events give us pass to rise above what I now realize are the moments that never make it onto the big screen. The in between times get us from one adventure to the next. We know what to do with the highs and the lows, it’s everything else that can be a bit unsettling. I guess all I can say, is thank goodness for the Tina Fey’s and Mitchel Hurwitz’s and their new era of programming that seems to be solving this dilemma for the generations to come.