S.O.S. from Leisureland

I've had two realizations over this past week. 1) I'm dating a Man of Leisure, and 2) It's possible I was a carny in a past life.

There is something about being at a fest, or fair, that puts me in this zone where anything is possible. Six dollars on three swings to see if you'll clear that massive pond using a golf ball as light as a whiffleball, and win us a shiny new Suburu? Sure, honey, get in line!! Be sure to stretch your arms first! $3 for a computerized analysis of my handwriting? The man manning the booth didn't care if I was offering to analyze his handwriting. His bored glaze just said to fork over the cash. He fed the sheet into his machine, punched some buttons, and a stream of cliches came out. MoL even snapped the moment on his iPhone, probably because I seemed so happy.

We are back from Summerfest, where I mostly came through on my promise of not blogging, or taking pictures, or checking email, or working on a neighborhood newsletter, or following the lives of friends, and peripherals on Facebook, or reading tarot cards as I do on most Wednesday nights.

MoL whom has the entire week off from work, and insists that, "Nobody in Chicago works during the summer," is annoyed with NBC for not airing Wimbledon this morning, forcing him to watch the tennis matches taped vs. live. This, outside of defrosting pork chops, is possibly all that's on MoL's mind at this very moment.

Am I envious of MoL's carefree, Judd Apatow-esque attitude toward life? Am I hoping that some of what he has will rub off on me? I am as neurotic as ever, on the floor next to the sectional couch, my laundry turning in his machine, typing away on his laptop, wondering why I am experiencing stress. Given my state of underemployment, this should be one of the best summers of my adult life. And, outside of the existential what-am-I--doing-with-my-life cloud, it is.

So, I guess I'll get back to Leisureland, and hanging with MoL, whom doesn't mess around when it comes to having a good time, a quality that I admire in him, and in others. There will be food, and fireworks tonight, maybe some board games, and a celebration of what makes our country great, which is its people, and our freedom. I'm also beginning to wonder if it's an 'Anything Goes/Whatever Works' attitude that makes us Americans stand out from the rest of the world, too. If that's the case, I need to get with the program. And, I'm trying... really.... Next week I'll check out job listings for carny workers, and maybe put my foot on the gas pedal, as soon as I figure out where I'm going. For now, I'm just saying - and feeling- a Happy Fourth.