No-Whining Zones

Dena and I were changing out of the day's work clothes in the bedroom yesterday and making some small talk, when the subject of weather came up, which inevitably led to some lamenting.

Then my silly button was pushed. "Wait a minute! The bedroom is a no whining zone! Wine is fine, but not whining!" We had a few laughs at that.

Truth is though, I need to establish more of these zones.

E-mail's definitely been one, as Hidden Bloggers have heard through the years. Yesterday was another example. While writing a proposal about staffing changes to my superiors I found words escaping my fingers that were subtle and selfish complaints. Deletedeletedeletedelete...

As usual, hours later while driving home from rehearsal, I recalled those original words and realized how weak and foolish it would have been to send those thoughts. Yes, inevitably they come to mind. Time and time again, it's been a prize to let them just flutter into empty space and fade away rather than letting them take root in my mind, and certainly not in writing.

With Damn Yankees rehearsal in full swing, and great investments and energy being poured in by all of the cast and crew, there are more chances to whine. For example, in small group hallway conversations reflecting back on this scene or this dance or this song. So easy to participate. And so dumb! It's a little harder to "delete" in these moments, as syllables slip out of our mouths. A tight tongue can lead to an ever-expanding set of no-whining zones, or perhaps better put, an ever-expanding set of winning zones.