My Dear "Kindred Spirit,"

My Dear “Kindred Spirit,”

I was supposed to be driving to Alabama today.

But somehow, between Saturday evening and Monday morning, I caught the plague.

When my brothers and I got home from vacation Saturday evening, half the people here were sick with some sort of cold/flu type thing. Monday morning I woke up with a sore throat, and it’s been downhill since then.

I’ve worked (and driven) with colds worse than this one. I could have totally made it to Alabama. But in my attempt to stop being such a bullheaded midget, I decided to take my brother’s advice (just this one time) and not try to drive 16 or 17 hours straight today…

So Alabama is going to have to wait until next week. Today I’m just gonna stay on this couch in my pajamas with a box of tissues and guzzle some mint tea. (Mint tea is my relaxing, “comforting,” drink of choice. Whenever I have trouble sleeping, I always seem to end up at the kitchen table with a notebook, pen, and mug of mint tea… ahhh… yes. Good stuff).

So when is the last time you watched My Fair Lady?

To the men reading this and starting to roll their eyes right about now: you might just want to skip the rest of this post. I’m about to get all girly and “chick-flicky.” Also, if you’ve never seen My Fair Lady, the rest of this post probably won’t make much sense… just warning ya.

I just (re-)watched My Fair Lady this morning. And it’s got me thinking two things:

1. Dang that’s a good musical! And:

2. It’s funny how my opinions change over time.

The first time I watched My Fair Lady, I was not impressed. It was long. I was rooting for the wrong guy (Freddy Eynsford-Hill), and then Eliza Doolittle didn’t end up with him in the end. In fact, she didn’t really end up with anyone in the end!

But now it’s one of my favorite musicals EVER.

And Professor Henry Higgins is the MAN!

I kinda want to just write down all his sarcastic comments in my “quote book” (yes, I actually have a quote book…).

Next time I watch that musical, I’m going to count all the different insulting names he calls Eliza. “Heartless Guttersnipe,” “Presumptuous Insect,” “Impudent Hussy…” Such a way with words!

And the romantic little girl in me just loves watching the professor starting to like Eliza. Starting to fall in love with Eliza. He’s so annoyed at himself for doing it, which I find absolutely hilarious!

He goes from: “Let the others of my sex tie the knot around their necks… I shall never let a woman in my life!” to: “Damn, Damn, Damn, Damn!!… I’ve grown accustomed to her face! She almost makes the day begin! I’ve grown accustomed to the tune, she whistles night and noon. Her smiles, her frowns, her ups, her downs, are second nature to me now. Like breathing out and breathing in…”

I don’t know if it’s simply because I have a weird sense of humor, or maybe having so many brothers has made me better able to recognize the sweetness amongst the insults when it comes to dudes:

“The question is not whether I treat you rudely, but whether you’ve ever heard me treat anyone else better! …I shall miss you Eliza. I’ve learned something from your idiotic notions…”

See! He likes you, Eliza!! He really likes you!

“I’m very grateful she’s a woman, and so easy to forget! Rather like a habit one can always break, and yet… I’ve grown accustomed to the trace, of something in the air. Accustomed, to her… face!”

Awwww!! That’s SO SWEET!!

Then watching Eliza come into her own – she goes from being super intimidated by the professor, to giving it back to him just as good as she gets it: “…I can stand on my own, without you. So go back in your shell, I can do BLOODY WELL without you!!”

Bravo, Eliza!

And then… (*heart melting*) …she goes back to him. Does it get any sweeter or more romantic than that??

She goes back not because he has groveled at her feet and promised to do better. But because she knows she got her point across (and she’s smart enough to not continue beating him over the head with his faults). And, as Eliza puts it: “… because we were pleasant together, and I came to care for you!”

Also: am I the only person who sees the humor in the scene where she throws the Professor’s slippers at him? Eliza is so upset, and he’s trying – and failing miserably – to calm her down. It’s half “awww… sweetness!” because he’s trying to calm her down, and half SOO funny, because he’s doing an absolutely horrible job of comforting her, but still thinks he’s succeeded!

Yup. My opinion of this musical has changed very much since the first time I saw it.

Goodbye, Freddy Eynsford-Hill! Despite your absolutely lovely rendition of “The Street Where You Live,” I’m glad to see you go. You’re a little too much of a useless, creepy stalker dude for my taste these days.

I’m definitely rooting for Henry Higgins now. Smart girl, Eliza! Stick with the Professor!

Dang that’s a good musical!

Eliza… Where the devil are my slippers??

Ok. Girly chick-flick gushing over.

Back to the real world, and I still have a cold…

I guess it’s time for me to go do some more neti-poting. (I have this weird habit of referring to hippie-type things using the term “ing” as a description. I won’t say “I’m doing Yoga” or “I’m using the neti-pot” or “I’m making Kombucha” or “My yogurt is getting thick.” Instead, it’s: “I’m Yogaing!” “I’m neti-poting!” “I’m Kombuchaing!” and “My yogurt is yogurting!”)

Just so you know, I can sense your rolling eyes, but I really couldn’t care less about them. 😀

Hope I feel better soon.

Love, N.

P.S. So now that I’ve inspired you to re-watch My Fair Lady (you’re welcome! And you should totally invite me over to re-watch it with you!), what movie/musical would you like to inspire me to watch or re-watch?? Let me know in the comments!