Fat & Happy

Imagine the old couple from Up (you know, the movie with the balloon house with the super adorable yet heartbreakingly tragic little love story at the beginning). The tiny little old people who are just the happiest with their lives? Got the picture in your head? Good. (If you don't there are just so many GIF's in this post of them so check them out). Well the real life versions of that couple goes to my church. No lie. I came back for Thanksgiving this past school year and they were there. And I've been going to this church since before I was even born so I really know everyone. But I leaned over to my mom and can remember saying "They are the cutest people in the entire world." And it KILLS me because I just don't know their names and they're just so cute and pint size.

But this Sunday morning at church my dad was teaching the adult class before the main service and then he was also leading singing- it was a pretty busy day. I'm sitting there with my grandma and mom and my dad is running everywhere trying to get prepared when the old couple walked in. So as I'm sitting there, making faces at the baby in the row in front of me, waiting for the service to start, I hear my dad stop and say "Good morning! How are you?" to the husband and his response was "Fat and happy!" then he walked over and met his wife in their usual seat.

Fat and happy! How adorable is that?!

Are you kidding me? I literally stopped and turned around in shock at him. I had never heard someone be so sincere and honest. Who says that they're fat and happy?! It's amazing because he twisted something that is seen as a negative and turned it right around. He also isn't even fat. I was later talking to my parents about this because it's honestly the most sincere thing that I have ever heard anyone say. And my mom mentions that his wife once a year goes up to New York City alone to go see all the shows she wants to see, to wander around the city alone and eat at all the best restaurants. This is amazing to me because it is SO evident that her husband would go with her in a heartbeat but she chooses to go alone. And I don't know the reasoning behind it for her but honestly I think there's something so special in silencing your mind and actually experiencing things without worrying about other people and I hope that's why she does it. I think that my mom mentioned that she used to be a performer of some type years ago and that honestly gives me so much hope.

I want to be this successful performer but I don't want to miss out on a real life. And this old woman who may (or may not) have been a performer has this wonderful family ( their son was there with them since it was Mother's Day and it was amazing because he was a solid two feet taller than them ), a beautiful marriage, a full life in a small town. At least that's what I see from the outside. But I can only hope that I get that lucky, to have a career doing what I love and then finding a man who makes it worth starting a life with.

Later, after the services, I talked to the husband for the first time. He was asking the usual questions about my summer and school and my plans. And I told him about musical theatre at JMU and how much I love it, that I'm going to perform a few shows in New Hampshire for the rest of summer and that I just hopped to be able to do what I loved for as long as I can. And he responded with "That's amazing! It shouldn't be too hard for you. Breaking into the movies isn't that hard when you have such a beautiful face and God given charisma and talent. You're gonna go very far, good luck." Apart from the part that he said about the movies (cause I don't really want to do those and idk where he got that idea LOL) he genuinely surprised me. The people at my church are very accustomed to the Ice family lifestyle; all three kids with theatre degrees and are artists as a living, but when new people talk to us about it, it's always like we're disappointing them by pursuing this. It's not that we're actually disappointing them, it's that they meet my parents who are these amazing people who are just so wonderful to meet that it's kind of jarring to find out that their kids are fully throwing themselves into a career where jobs aren't guaranteed. It seems unrealistic to people who don't know the Ice family work ethic. Especially in older generations- there is the littlest faith that we'll build a life out of performing. But this old man, who I have never talked to before, who self-proclaimed that he was fat and happy, who calls my mom Donna when her name is really Christine, who has such an amazing positive outlook on life, fully and completely believes in me. That is just breathtaking to me and I just love thinking about this wonderful couple. They're really living the dream. Fat and happily.

It's midnight on Tuesday and I can honestly tell you all that I have thought about this since church on Sunday. I hope that my future is that positive and fun. I hope I find a soulmate as perfect for me as they are for each other. Amazing how three words can stick with you.

xx.💋

Liv