The Bookcase

I had a spiritual experience at Ikea last night, of all places. Well, maybe not spiritual. But Josh had to work and I wanted to get some things there, so, I decided to go by myself. Ikea is in the Oakland area…don’t worry dad, I took a self-defense class in college.

But one of the things I was on a mission to get was a new bookcase b/c our present one is a $30 Target. Ghetto. So, I picked out a good one on display but once I went to pick up the actual box, I realized that it was far too big, long, awkward and heavy for me. It was 8:30pm, I was by myself and I didn’t think it would fit in our car and I would have to tie the trunk down or something and I have no idea how to do stuff like that. Well, after thinking about it, I decided I was going to buy it and load it all by myself b/c I was sure if I really tried, I could do it.

So, I pulled my car up to the loading deck, went through the store and line a second time, bought the fatty and loaded it into my car all by myself!! I was smiling the whole time I was getting it situated. Anyone watching would have thought, ‘wow, that girl’s really excited about her new bookcase!’

It may sound so insignificant but once I got into the car and started to drive off, I felt proud of myself. A feeling I am not used to feeling at all. And I realized that I felt proud (a healthy proud…like a 5 year old who just tied their shoes) because I accomplished something that I immediately wrote off as something I couldn’t do. I never feel proud of myself because I never take risks. I never challenge myself. What is there to be proud of about doing the norm, taking the safe road? Oh, it was some great stuff. Anyway, that’s all. Thanks Ikea.