"Good morning, Gil!"

"Good morning, Gil. I said, Good morning, Gil."

Tell me you've seen What About Bob? Please. If you haven't, quit reading this post and go experience one of the greatest movies in existence. It's gotten me through trying times. When one of my friends is down, and I know that we've reached the point where nothing I can say will help, I just pop What About Bob? in the DVD player and let Bill Murray work his magic. Works every time.

If you haven't rushed to your nearest Blockbuster (mostly because those don't exist anymore, which is the saddest), then I'll give you the 411 (a saying that's probably as behind the times as Blockbuster). Bob has some psychological issues. He's basically a nervous wreck, and he's not all that great at understanding social cues. He's a weird dude. At the start of the movie, his only friend is a goldfish named Gil, probably because poor Gil can't run away. Bob's psychologist can't take him anymore, so he literally packs his things and goes, passing Bob onto Dr. Leo Marvin, an egotist who honestly should never be allowed to work with humans. Bob has an appointment with Dr. Marvin and is aghast when he learns that Dr. Marvin is going on vacation. To appease Bob for the time being, Dr. Marvin gives (or forces Bob to buy) his newest book, Baby Steps, saying that Bob can work through his issues if he can just take one baby step at a time. So, Bob gives it a shot.

Here's an example:
Bob: "...baby step onto the elevator...baby step into the elevator...I'm in the elevator..."
[Door closes]
[Bob screams bloody murder.]
(For more great quotes, check out the IMDB page.)

So it doesn't always work, but what does? And some things, even the small things, are still frightening, even if you take baby steps to get there. I'm not going to tell you the rest of the story, but [spoiler] Bob improves. Well, kind of. He vanquishes his fears of life in general. He learns to take baby steps and even large strides through life. (This is a terribly oversimplified description, and I apologize.)

I'm pretty sure I used the phrase "baby steps" before I saw the movie. It's kind of common. I walk around thinking, "Baby steps. Baby steps to college. Baby steps to graduation. Baby steps to grad school." Those are the turns along the way. They're currently the obvious giants in my life. In order to get past them, I think, "Baby steps to my 8 a.m. meeting. Baby steps to the library. Baby steps to the swing dance." Let me get all sentimental here and say that it's the baby steps that often mean so much more and that get you past those frightening giants in life. You learn, and you grow. You might automatically think of serious or emotional baby steps, but there are funny ones too. What About Bob? just sort of reminded me of the comedy in life, or the comedic bits of life that show up in your baby steps.

So, if I follow through, that's what this blog will be about: baby steps. (And some of the larger strides, too.) And that can mean so many different things, because you don't always know where your steps will take you, but you eventually learn something. Maybe that means talking about a book I read and recommend (most likely), a funny story, or a thought. I don't know. Guess I'll find out.

Here's to learning.

Yours,

Haley