When someone tries to steal your joy

A few weeks ago, I attended an elegant event and ended up talking with a woman I had met a few months earlier. She was wearing a fantastic designer lace dress, but said the man she was with didn't approved. In fact, he asked her if she had planned to go home and change before they had arrived. He thought it was too tight and sexy for a woman of a "certain age." (It was neither.)

I asked her to point him out to me. As I suspected, he wasn't a looker, not that good looks matter when you're an ass. So, I turned to her and told her she looked beautiful and hot in the dress, and he was stupid. I wanted to punch him in the nose, but she said it wasn't necessary.

She also said it wasn't the first time he had criticized her appearance and made her feel less than. So, I asked her why was she with him.

"Good question," she said.

"You deserve better. We all do," I said.

The next day, she sent me an email to thank me. ‪#‎yearofjoy‬

Starting the Year of Joy

It happened rather organically. I was sick and tired of being sick of tired ...  of not doing the things I love to do, like working out regularly, getting pedicures, having lunch with friends and hearing their voices on the phone, taking pictures for fun, traveling to some place unknown, passionate kissing and salsa dancing. I was tired of not meeting new people and learning new things. I was tired of the mundaneness of life that crept in over the last few years with endless deadlines and long work weeks. I needed my joy back, like Stella and her groove. I wanted to feel alive and vibrant again. So, I made a deal with myself to do more things that bring me joy.

Here goes.