Hot Tub Time Machine!

Have you heard of National Do Something Nice Day, celebrated in October or National Random Acts of Kindness Day, which is celebrated on February 17? Only two days a year that we have to be amiable- shouldn’t we celebrate these days EVERY day of the year?

I’m glad I discovered these special days. It’s easy to get caught up with our hectic schedules and fast-paced lifestyles-we all need reminders to stop for a moment and do something nice.

Yes, Im getting into the hot tub soon!

Yes, we must strive to be pleasant all the time, and especially with our families, as they sometimes get the brunt of our “not niceness.” Give some thought to how you could be nice every day, at home at work at play. You could do big things, like volunteer at school, or a charity or you could do something smaller, like return your cart to the cart place at the grocery or not freak out if someone gets in line ahead of you.

 One small thing that my husband and I have focused on as we try to be nice every day is to look for opportunities to say “Hello” and connect with the people we encounter.

 As you may know, a hot tub, on vacation, is a great way to kindle warm feelings and say, “Hello!” We recently vacationed in Florida and we had plenty of time to soak and chat in the hot tub. We said hello to many happy vacationers. 

I must confess, that even though my husband and I make a point of greeting and visiting with folks, we don’t always remember their names  But, Mr. and Mrs. Illinois, Mr. and Mrs. West Virginia, Ms. 51 and Mr. and Mrs. Parents of Twins, we had a blast laughing with you!

So, what do we talk about? Last year, one of the most popular hot topics was “dog problems”. Everyone seemed to be worried- their dog was sick, she didn’t like the kennel. Nobody had pet issues this year.

So, what did we talk about after we smiled and said, “Hi”? If you want to be nice in the hot tub- here is a guide to the most popular conversation topics. (Based on our extensive research!) Ease on in and enjoy the comfort of a friendly hot tub!

1.Getting to Know You– These are all the ice breaker topics, (“ice” in a hot tub, you ask?) such as, “Where are you from, How long have your been here, how long are you staying?” Most people are from New York or the mid-west- we all head straight down to Florida!

2.Stormy Weather– Once we know where all from, we segue smartly to the weather. Yay we all left snow for The Sunshine State!

3.Our Pool Noodles– Yes, everyone still asks where we got the best floating devices ever! I was able to get this Hunk to demonstrate our noodles in the lazy river!

4. Good Sports! Funny story- we missed seeing LeBron James the day he was staying near our vacation place, but we did meet Marty Schottenheimer’s brother in the hot tub! We love to talk sports, and being from northern Ohio, we have plenty of sad sports stories to share!

5. Solving the World’s Problems- We had a delightful time one day chatting with two other couples. One couple was from West Virginia. The wife explained that, when all was said and done, she liked being her current age, and wouldn’t want to be younger. I would have clocked her at being over 70.

What a great topic! This led us to discuss various ages and stages of our lives, and we agreed that the freedom of retirement, coupled with our years of accumulated wisdom made us the best possible age! We then went on to solve the world’s problems, since we had decided that we were the perfect people to do so!

I enjoyed this conversation so much and I was so pleased when we encountered this couple again in the hot tub. We started to visit and she recounted how she had met such a nice couple earlier, and had loved the conversation about being the perfect age and solving the world’s problems! Yes, we may not remember everything like we used to, but we are the masters of life and of the hot tub!

Do you like to meet new people and get to know them? Let me know when you are hot tubbing – I would love to chat with you!