whelmed

I went to Metrotown today

It’s a shopping mall, about 1-hour bus ride from my home

I used to go there all the time as a child:

memories of reading Manga books in the Chapters, getting a watermelon smoothie to share with my sister, staring and the fountain and wondering who put all those coins and pennies in there, and thinking that this mall is the greatest mall ever all came back to me.

Today, I wasn’t as overwhelmed; things were not as big as I remember, and the mall didn’t feel as fantastical as I thought it was.

I wasn’t necessarily underwhelmed either. I still enjoyed the new additions and the old familiar shops. There were still hints of unique qualities that I appreciated.

I was just whelmed.

We don’t always need to go to the extremes when describing life.

Not every experience needs to be “the greatest thing”, and not every event that doesn’t meet your expectations needs to be “a disaster”.

Sometimes, it can be “just right”.

Sometimes, it’s good to just go on cruise control and not be pushing yourself too hard.

Sometimes, it can be good to just be whelmed.

Gratitude Day 4: I am grateful to my sister.