I Don't Get It

I don’t get Marshmello. 

My daughter says “Mom!  Don’t you like DJs?????”

And I’m like “Yeah….. but why does he have to be a marshmallow??”

I also don’t get the IHOP to IHOB prank. Why would you try to take away our pancakes, IHOP??

My son likes to watch for hours these YouTubers who are just filming themselves playing games that my son could (and does) just easily actually play himself.  I don’t get that either.  (No shade to you, Denis. You and Sir Meows A Lot are super cool dudes)

There are a lot of things I just don’t get. 

I don’t get why you would turn down pickles, ever.  Or why some people really really like the band from the 70s Steely Dan. Or why other people don’t think it’s essential to check the weather forecast every morning. Or why mini tops are a thing. Or why everyone else always seems to get the 30% off coupon for Kohls and I only ever get the 15% one. And I definitely don’t get Kale chips.  I don’t get why it’s fun to show off your wiggly tooth (Dylan) and I don’t understand the appeal of curling.  And I definitely don’t understand how you figure out how to solve a rubics cube, even though Dylan’s tried to teach me a hundred times. Or why there are people that clean their floor EVERY DAY.

I just don’t get it.

But you know what? I don’t have to get any of that.

And what I don’t get the most is that any of us think we do. Or should. Or that we think we have something to “fix.”

Just because I don’t get it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

Just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.

I was having a conversation with a friend recently and we talked about how everyone is fighting a battle we can’t see.  (Or many). And I think the truth is, too, that everyone is also made up of a complex galaxy of likes/beliefs/hobbies/habits/traits. And there are as many algorithms to figure that out as there are people on the planet. (times a billion.  I think.  I’m not sure how algorithms work.  That’s one of the things I don’t get).

I think to often we jump to a “What the hell??” mindset when we might do better to start with a “Help me understand…” one.

There are lots of things I don’t get.

But one thing I do…. If I reach my hand across the aisle of discontent, the ocean of “you’re so different,” the wall of difference….

Well.

I bet I’d find something I do get there.

What “I don’t get” can you try to “get” today?