Yes. I Want The ENTIRE Pizza

Happy Monday, folks!

It is currently 7:28pm on Mother’s Day Sunday evening and I’m sitting on the floor of the carpeted church office typing these words for you as the setting sun shines in from the windows while tunes of Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Carrie Underwood, Shawn Mendes, and Broadway tunes plays quietly in the background.

Oh…and yes, there is a strategically placed cup of coffee in my more self love mug sitting beside me close enough to smell the aroma of French Roast while the hot beverage cools down just a bit before enjoying, but not close enough in case I have an arm spasm and decide to accidentally swing the arm unexpectedly…

…That actually did happen this week at work. My arm went flailing in classic JP fashion, hit the paper cup of coffee, and SPLASH! All over the desk, carpeted floor, and backpack of personal belongings.

Not going to lie–despite the stains on the backpack (until I throw it in the washer this week), I don’t mind the coffee aroma that it is exuding.

Maybe I’ll create a scratch and sniff coffee backpack, present my idea on Shark Tank and become the next world’s entrepreneur billionaire!

Anyhoo…I digress.

Any guesses on what the theme of this week’s blog post might be based off the title?

No…it isn’t about how much I love Domino’s pizza.

But I do LOVE Domino’s pizza even if people say it isn’t “real” pizza.

But that is another story for another day…another blog post for another week so to speak.

Saturday, April 30th, I did something while I was sitting in the lobby of the Ephrata Performing Arts Center that I have not done in a decade.

I joined a dating website.

I hit the subscribe button on Match.com–something I have not completed since 2012.

It was a feeling mixture of anxiety and happiness.

And within 10 minutes, I was matched with an individual.

It seemed to good to be true–almost like Match.com toying with my emotions since I had been using the free version for a few weeks, but the minute I gave my credit card to pay, it was like…BOOM…here is your Match!

And of course, with these dating apps, you are asked to complete a number of questions that show off your personality and allow for others to really understand and see who you are through the facet of social media pictures and words.

But I tried my best to answer the questions to convey the Mr. Sunshine persona for the individuals that would be viewing my profile.

And while talking this weekend to a wonderful coworker and colleague of mine, I was reminded that I need to stop being afraid to be unapologetically myself.

I need to not dim my light for anyone or anything because I, too, Mr. Sunshine have needs and wants, especially in the realm of relationships.

Thinking about this sentiment, I quickly realized that writing my profile and having communication with individuals is going to an excellent challenge for me to be unapologetically myself.

What are some things that make me unapologetically myself? What makes me unapologetically Mr. Sunshine?

Well, read on for just a sampling of bullet points!

-I worry about everything.

-I like to The Golden Grils constantly and don’t care that I’ve seen the episodes hundreds of times.

– I like to eat frozen tv dinners sometimes because they are convenient and don’t require much clean up.

-I like to order Dominos pizza and eat the entire pizza by myself.

-I like to sleep on top of my bed wrapped in a blanket.

-I like to put mayo…on everything. Literally everything–bread, salmon, bagels…everything.

-I like Disney movies and romantic comedies.

-I like to listen to Katy Perry’s Firework on repeat…constantly.

-I love legs.

-I love to eat ice cream out of the carton.

-I still get scared during thunderstorms.

-I still very much like to take naps.

-Chewing with your mouth open is a big pet peeve of mine.

-The cereal aisle at the grocery store is incredibly overwhelming.

-I like hot fudge sundaes from Dairy Queen.

-I don’t separate wash–I put everything in all at once.

-I love the beach and getting a tan from the sun.

-Pull ups are still one of my least favorite exercises to do at the gym.

-I enjoy naps.

-I like the sound of rain.

-I like to have a good cry every once in awhile.

These are just a few of the qualities that make me unapologetically myself.

Take me or leave me.

I am Mr. Sunshine…hear me roar!

The communication with this particular individual on Match has been quite positive; however, I will admit that it is still taking me time to get used to it since it has been so long. But on the flipside, there is a flutter and special giddy feeling inside myself as I wait to be notified of the next message they send me.

But it is a good lesson for me to be myself with someone, to be vulnerable, to wear my heart on my sleeve…and be unapologetically myself without any regrets.

To be unapologetically myself without dimming my light.

Dim the light for no one in life!

Be. You.

Be unapologetically yourself with the people around you.

Sprinkle sunshine always,

JP!