My favorite movie of all-time is It's a Wonderful Life. I can say this with reasonable certainty for a few precious seconds, but as soon as the words are typed, I start remembering other movies I love, like Edward Scissorhands, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and then, I feel guilty...yes, guilty...for ever saying that It's a Wonderful Life is my favorite. I really wouldn't want any of the other movies to feel bad that they're not my favorite, you know? Sure, you may think that movies don't have feelings, but do you really know that for a fact?
Since I was a little girl, I've had a hard time narrowing down "my favorite things" for just that very reason: I don't want to hurt any feelings. I'm such a dyed-in-the-wool people pleaser that even pleasing inanimate objects is important to me...which is quite sad really, so let's not focus on that for now. Let's just focus on the fact that when I say something is my "favorite," I'm probably going to follow it up with twenty other things that are also my favorites in that same category. If you get me rolling on naming my favorite things, then you're going to be listening to me ramble on for awhile. Not unlike right now.
Jeremy has gotten used to this personality
Day 2 on our magical honeymoon to Disney World. We're cuddled up together on a transport bus to the Magic Kingdom. Love fills the air. As we are reminiscing over the adventures of the previous day, I look up at my dear, new husband with adoring eyes and ask, simply, "What was your favorite part of the day?"
To my dismay, he could only shrug. "I don't know."
Don't know? How could he not know? I could understand having a hard time narrowing down a favorite activity, but if I had been asked this question, I would have started chattering right away, naming off all of the wonderful parts of the day. Instead, he stuck with: "I don't know."
By the time the bus pulled up at the station at the Magic Kingdom, we were having a full-fledged argument. By the time we entered the gates of the park, we were no longer on speaking terms. We spent the first hour of the day on opposite sides of Future World, each fuming for very different reasons.
Pirate Me, on the honeymoon, happier after forgiving the hubby for not having a favorite...arrr! |
Regardless, I still ask...everyday, at least once a day. He sometimes plays along. Like the other night, for example, after watching Glee, I was gushing about who my favorite character is.
"Rachel. It's definitely Rachel. But my second favorite is Santana. No Finn. I like Rachel, then Finn, then Santana. Oh, my gosh! But Kurt! I totally forgot about Kurt. So, it's Rachel, Kurt, Finn, and Santana. Definitely." Glee-speak is always hurried and delivered in a high-pitched, squealy voice. I get on my own nerves. "Who's your favorite Glee character, baby?"
... ... ... To his credit, he gave the question very serious consideration. He even twisted his mustache a little as he thought. "I like Kurt, okay, but I guess my favorite is Sue Sylvester. She's the only one I consistently like."
So, he definitely plays along sometimes. I guess we've both learned to compromise a little there. I only ask him about his favorite things half as much as I would normally, and he actually tries to pretend he has favorite things sometimes when I ask. This makes for a happy and relatively peaceful marriage.
And there is one favorite that I don't have any problem naming; Jeremy is unequivocally my favorite husband. Of all-time. In the history of the world.
Author's Note: This is a new series on my blog where I'll be gushing about some of my favorite things. This is just the introduction, so expect more (much more) gushing on my favorite movie at a later date. I just know that I'm very passionate, about a LOT of things, and I want a place to share that passion. Enjoy!
Are you a person who has a long list of favorites? Are you like me and have a hard time narrowing down your favorite things? Or are you more like Jeremy...not so much into things like "favorites"?