2 Minute Series - Groundhog Day Tie - Changing Person and Perspective

 Written 7 Mar 21 - Transcribed 13 Mar 21


This is a series of 2 Minute Writings on “Something I Did Today.  It starts in First Person (I).  Then first person plural (we).  Then second person (you).  Then 2nd Person Accusatory (still you but finger pointing).  Then third person (he or she - or plural they).  Then, change to opposite gender in one of them.

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# 1 - First Person (I):


My daughter said recently, "I feel like I'm in Groundhog Day. Every day's the same. Get up. Go to work. Come home. Eat. Sleep. Start over.


“I think that's just being an adult.  Adulthood kind of sucks.”


Today was Groundhog Day for me, so far. Get up. Pee. Make coffee. Sit on bed.  SpiritualPractice/Self-hypnosis/meditation. Write.


And, it looks like the rest of the day will look pretty much like today, yesterday, and the day before that, too.  


Groundhog Day.

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#2 First Person Plural (we):

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This was no Groundhog Day. My l had been pretty much “I.” I did this. I did that. Alone. Solitary.


Not today. I


Today, "we" woke up at the same time. We cuddled for a while. A welcome change from jumping out of bed and robotically falling into my regular morning habits and routines. Not that I didn't enjoy it being alone. I’ve lived alone intentionally for over 15 years.  And have done it before, in younger days, too.  It was always intentional. But maybe "we" was now a better option than “I?" 


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# 3.  2d Person (You):

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You woke up alone, again. Like Groundhog Day, you thought, as you habitually jumped up to start your morning routine. Without even thinking.


Then, suddenly, a flash of inspiration hit. It was a gorgeous morning, you thought. You made a bold decision.  Tohave coffee outside on the patio and read this morning.


You decided it was no Groundhog Day for you! 


A small, perhaps insignificant choice. It seems that way. But, as it turned out, it changed your life.


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# 4.  2nd Person Accusatory (You):

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 Even as you were only thinking about having your coffee outside instead of going straight to your desk to write, you started second-guessing. Beating yourself up. Judging.


Everyone says you have to be hyper-disciplined to be a great writer. So who the heck says you can break your vow to write first thing every morning? Break your own rule?  Are you going to hell for changing things up? 


Probably!


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# 5.  3rd Person (He or She):

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She had to catch her breath and take a hard look around as she woke up. There was a man next to her.


Holy crap, she thought. Then she remembered.


It was her old, and probably best, friend, Alan. "Just Friends Alan." Best, Just Friends for 10 years or so. High energy and strong bonds have been suppressed and had kept Alan in "The Friend Zone." 


And now, she was finally released from those stifling, artificial, self-imposed boundaries. At last.  She couldn’t remember why all that nonsense started in the first place.  This was better.


"Let's just cuddle for a while.  OK?” she said with a mischievous smile.


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# 6.  3rd Person - Opposite Gender

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He couldn't be happier. His Groundhog Day lifestyle changed yesterday.


He and his best friend, Justine - “Just Friends Justine” - had finally admitted what everyone else had known for a long time. They weren't "just friends.”


They'd carried on like that for 10 years. It started like that. And they'd just let themselves get into that habit. He couldn’t remember why.  Some sort of freak accident, he supposed.


Not anymore. Here she was, warm and waking up next to him. He waited until she stretched a little.  He hadn’t wanted to wake her.  "Hey friend," he said. "want to cuddle for a while?" 


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# 6A.  Change 6 from present tense to past tense.

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Three years ago today, he thought. That was the first morning he woke up in bed next to his then "Best Friend Justine.”  


He remembered the fresh scent of her hair that morning.  How she stretched while still half asleep.  How warm and natural it felt as they cuddled under the covers for the first time. He'd never forget.


His Groundhog Day existence vanished that glorious morning three years ago.  Forever.


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6B.  Change to Future Tense

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Alan could imagine it happening years before it did.


Alan and his "Best Friend/ Just Friends, Justine" would discover what had been in front of their faces for years.


He didn’t know exactly when.  But he knew they would, at some point, wake up.  They’d finally see each other as they really were.  


And, experience their relationship in a whole new way. Still what they had.  They were just going to add another layer to it.  A more significant layer.  It was going to change their lives.


For Alan, it couldn’t come fast enough.  He’d be kissing his Groundhog Day existence goodbye the very second he was kissing Justine good morning.  


Tomorrow, perhaps?

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