The Meme for Our Lives

In 2007, my husband and I decided to go to the city to see a movie. This is not something we do often, but we really wanted to see Balls of Fury, mainly for pointers on how to become ping pong ninjas. The reason we needed that important knowledge was because we’d just bought ourselves a ping pong table as a reward for six months of smoke-free living. 

Although I see the benefits of a healthful, cigarette-free lifestyle now, back then I was totally in it for the rewards. Those rewards—date nights, earrings, necklaces, a ping-pong table, eventually more earrings, bigger clothes, a vacation—all helped me move forward in my smoke-free journey. 

Balls of Fury was going to teach us how best to use our newest reward, so I was beyond excited to see it.        

When we got to the movie theater, we were surprised to see they had over a dozen screens, at least ten more than our local theater. It was pretty overwhelming, but we stood in the snake-like line anyway, frantically looking at notices around the room, hopeful we’d figure it out before we got to the front. 

We didn’t.

So, we just shrugged and quietly asked the young lady at the window, “We were hoping to see Balls of Fury?”

She sighed, leaned forward, and put her mouth next to the microphone. Then, speaking very loudly and very slowly, pronouncing each word individually, she said, “First, we had it.  And now, we don’t have it.”

We burst out laughing, and when we realized people were staring and we didn’t have a back-up movie chosen, we simply walked out the door. 

First they could’ve had our money, but then they didn’t get it.    

I don’t think we realized it at the time, but we’d just been handed the meme for our lives. And this was back before memes were even really a thing. 

Think about it:  That expression applies to everything in our lives. Every. Single. Thing.

• Cigarettes? First we had them, and now we don’t. Thank goodness!
• Coolness? Obviously, we didn’t have that anymore. 
• Those pairs of earrings I loved so much? First I had two of each kind, and now I don’t.
• Youth? Beauty? Skinny jeans?  First we had them, and now we don’t have them.
• The hair on my husband’s head? In a continuation of the last bullet, first he had it, and now he pretty much doesn’t. 
• Groceries? First we had some, and now we have to go shopping. Again.
• Babies? Cute kids at home? First we had them, and, because they grew up so quickly, now we don’t. 
• Every parent of teenagers can relate to this one:  Money? Once we finally got to a place where we might actually have had some disposable income, our kids got older and asked us to pay (or help them pay) for proms, cars, college, and weddings. So, for parents of teens, although you may have had some cash flow for a brief minute, I’m betting you barely have any at all right now. 

I don’t want to sound too negative about the meme for our lives, though, because there are also positives applications of it, such as all the things I’m grateful about not having anymore. 

• I used to drive fast cars with big motors, but now I don’t have them or the speeding tickets that accompanied them. 
• As much as I hate to admit it, there’s photographic evidence of me sporting giant hair, mom jeans, and shoulder pads, but thankfully, I don’t have those things anymore either. 
• We used to have kids around all the time, and, although we (mostly) loved raising them, I’m grateful we no longer have dirty diapers, babysitters, teenagers, and their friends to deal with on a daily basis. 
• That goes double for the school principal, sitting on bleachers in all kinds of weather, and trying to keep my husband awake through elementary school band concerts or three-hour long talent shows that featured our kid for almost two whole minutes. 

Regardless of whatever it was we had then but no longer have now, it’s important to recognize we still have so much, including the treasured memory of how we discovered the meme for our lives.