Hannibal Lecter would be proud

"Whimsy" is one of my favorite words, both the way it sounds and the definition. I first fell in love with the word while reading Thomas Harris's Hannibal, the sequel to Silence of the Lambs. Harris must have had a thing for the word, too, because "whimsy" showed up everywhere in the book (which, considering the story, is rather remarkable)! I remember discussing that odd circumstance with my friend Brad, and saying that it was about the best thing I got from the story, because I didn't like the way Harris developed the relationship between Clarice Starling and Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

But I digress. My point is, ever since then, I've been on the look out for whimsy, both the word and the experience. Maybe that's because I'm not naturally a very whimsical person. I'm very grounded, very logical, very predictable. I'm a natural born planner...tell me a deadline and watch me go at it. When you're organizing your calendar months in advance and setting one year and five year goals (which I have), that doesn't leave a lot of room for whimsy to wander in and shake things up.

I think my love of e.e. cummings's poetry is a bit of whimsy, for cummings is by his very nature whimsical. I think that's why I find so much humor in a clever bumper sticker, too, even if I don't agree with the message. And the whimsical nature of it is one of the extra bonuses of taking belly dancing - it's so out of character for me. You could have knocked my Mom over when she found out I was taking these lessons. Scott didn't quite know what to say when I first told him I was thinking about signing up for classes.

Whimsy came again today and surprised me with an opportunity to spend some time with dear friends in an interesting and relaxing place. Completely out of the blue. So for my friend who extended the invitation, thank you!

It's amazing how much whimsy you can find in the day to day if you are just looking for it.