Laundromat Advice

I do my laundry every Sunday. Unless it's raining, or for some reason, I decided to do it on Saturday. I pack my white bag and walk to my favorite neighborhood laundromat.

This Sunday was no different. Well, it was different in one way. Usually I don't walk into the laundromat until after 1 p.m. Today I was there by 9:15 a.m. It's amazing what you can accomplish on Sunday when you stay in and get a good night's sleep.

After loading my clothes into the machines, I sat and thought. Usually I read or write, but today I thought. I realized that I had a wake-up call this weekend. We all have wake-up calls. Some are harsher than others, but when they happen, it forces you to think. A wake-up call could be a result of a night that got out of control, a bad experience with drugs, sleeping with someone you shouldn't have, or maybe just realizing that you aren't happy with your life (Just to be clear, my wake-up call didn't result from any of those examples ... I don't want my mom to worry).

No matter what it is, it happened. Now it's up to you to learn from it and become a stronger person. Maybe you have to change some things in your life, even if you're not ready to. If you don't, you'll probably have another wake-up call real soon ... and this one might be a bit harsher.

Thanks to my wake-up call, I realized that I need to spend more time with just myself ... and working on things that make me happy. So, Saturday is my new day. I used to devote it to other foolishness and that got me nowhere, except unhappy and unfulfilled.

Sometimes, especially in New York City, you get so wrapped up in making everyone else happy that you forget that no one is as important as you. It's ok to turn off your cell phone for a day or a night and focus on you! You don't have to be at every party or every event that you're invited to.

As I was thinking about all of this at the laundromat, an employee came up to me. I see her there all the time and she always starts a conversation with me. This morning she came up to me and started talking about how messy and rude people are at the laundromat (which is true ... people just throw their dryer sheets on the floor when there's a garbage two feet away). Usually I'm all bubbly and chat with her, but today I just nodded my head and smiled. She said, "Honey, are you alright? You look a little down." I assured her that I was fine and that I just had a lot on my mind.

She came closer to me and said, "All you can do is dance and be happy. That's the remedy." Without even knowing that I'm a dancer, she somehow gave me the best advice I've heard in a long time. As I folded my last sock, I thanked her for the words of wisdom.

It felt great to get my laundry done and receive a dose of advice all before 11 a.m. on a Sunday. I really liked it. Thanks wake-up call. I'm glad I listened this time.