I have always been a strong believer that everyone has their own eccentricities…not only me. Moreover, I have always thought that our individual peculiarities only surface with old age or once we enter the holy sacrament of marriage. Nothing further from the truth. Recently, I asked my teenage students whether they have any strange habits. To my surprise, I actually discovered that some of them can best perform their everyday activities only to particular songs and continue to repeat the routine on a daily basis. Others, for instance, massage their feet after school- wow, speaking of peculiar! These answers totally brought it home to me that, in some cases, eccentricities can be very useful. They may either organize one’s life, give a new meaning to it, or even preserve some memories. My personal definition of being eccentric is that our peculiar behavior stands us out from the crowd and makes us so much more unique. Furthermore, willingly or not, we pass some of these patterns down to our family members. Hence the old-school expression, like father like son, when a particular quality runs in the family.
My grandfather used to be a passionate oil lamp collector. Regardless of weather, he would always wear an elegant, bright suit and have his favorite coffee and dessert at the same café for decades. My father, on the other hand, is a musician with an impressive collection of vinyl records, ranging from jazz to hip hop, and absolutely has to do everything in sync with the music in the background. He continues to stay “green” and rides his bike everywhere, come rain or shine, and believes that anything can be fixed with glue. My sister has a funny habit of making the whole family watch a film in the evening, preparing a bulging bowl of popcorn, then falling asleep within the first minute of the movie, and waking up to a bolt upright position at the very end, asking what had happened. When we were kids she was the one who decorated Christmas cakes with symmetrical precision, arranging nuts and raisins horizontally and vertically. My mother is the one to make sure that the dining table is always perfectly set, wears dresses that reflect the colors of current season, and hides things for worse days to come. The mere thought of meeting all my eccentric family members this Christmas fills me with indescribable joy!
If I were to pinpoint one of my numerous eccentricities, I would have to choose the mildest of all, so as not to put you off reading this article. I admit, I have early symptoms of hoarding. I see beauty in things other people normally call…rubbish. I often free my family and friends from stuff they no longer want or need and give these objects a new life, new meaning. My sentimental soul battles over every piece of old furniture and instead of getting rid of it, I upcycle. I do not fancy chain stores or mass production as such. I would simply rather shop at a flea market or a second-hand shop where you can meet inspiring, correction – eccentric people. Apart from purely aesthetic value, most of my peculiar ideas are moneywise and engage the whole family. The outcome surprises even the most skeptical ones. This Christmas, for instance, we are not buying, we are manufacturing!!!
Dział Felietony wspiera Partner Sieńko i Syn- Autoryzowany Dealer Audi. Przeczytaj kolejny na https://przedsiebiorczepodlasie.pl/felietony/ Zdjęcia: Monika Woroniecka – fotografia biznesowa
