I told my husband he should take the Christmas inflatables down because it was going to rain. So he did, and then set them back up–only in a different place.

I wasn’t expecting to see them when I innocently opened the door to the garage–staring back at me, motors whirring, all lit up in the dark–in the garage.

It’s like the flipping Thanksgiving Day Parade. Inside. Our garage.

Everytime I open the door I forget they are there. Every single time.

Yes that is Darth Vader.

So I’m yelling at my 8 year old to stop jumping on the couch and for my 10 year old to stop telling the 8 year old to jump higher and I start giggling because I just opened the door to the garage.

***

Last night we watched the movie The Martian (awesome). The hero, Astronaut Mark Watney, played by Matt Damon, gets stranded on the planet Mars, by mistake. His crew accidentally leaves him behind because they think he is dead. So much is wrong with that last statement. I mean when you think bad day you at least have, I don’t know, the human race nearby, oxygen, water… “If the oxygenator breaks down, I’ll suffocate. If the water reclaimer breaks down, I’ll die of thirst. If the hab breaches, I’ll just kind of implode. If none of those things happen, I’ll eventually run out of food and starve to death. So, yeah. I’m f___.”

Somehow the movie is funny.

“Alright, let me get a few things out of the way, right off the bat. Yes, I did in fact survive on a deserted planet by farming in my own shit. Yes, it’s actually worse than it sounds. So, let’s not talk about that ever again.”

“They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially colonized it. So, technically, I colonized Mars. In your face, Neil Armstrong!”

“In the face of overwhelming odds, I’m left with only one option, I’m gonna have to science the shit out of this.”

Love it.

And then he says this:

“At some point, everything’s going to go South on you. You’re going to say, ‘This is it. This is how I end.’ Now, you can either accept that, or you can get to work.” You have to solve one problem, and then solve the next problem, and then solve the next problem, and “if you solve enough problems, you get to go home.”

It’s about how to thrive and prosper and do amazing things, right? That’s what we do as humans. And oh boy, does sh*# happen. Not taking yourself so seriously is a bonus too. (Which is partly why I loved Matt Damon’s character so much. He’s hilarious in the movie. Go see it!)

***

I had a heart to heart with a girlfriend today and Doom and Gloom sat in on the conversation. They are such kill joys. We were talking about the sh*# that happens and problem solving (luckily I’m not alone on the planet) and I opened the door to the garage–

Yup.

I’m thinking about leaving those crazy inflatables up in our garage for a bit longer–

Life is just so ridiculous sometimes, if you let it;)