bubblicious – spreading the yum one bubble at a time

Ten years ago I went to a wedding where they gave out little bottles of soap bubbles in place of rice or birdseed. When the bride and groom arrived at the reception, we greeted them outside in a shower of bubbles. It was delightful.

I became rather attached to my party favor, and so blew bubbles out the window of my car on the way home when I was stopped at a red light. I did it kind of absently … I just blew and watched as bubbles floated on the breeze. I followed one sparkly bubble over the roof of the car next to me and caught the eye of the man inside. He was grinning from ear to ear … laughing as bubbles swirled around his car.

It was so much fun that I did it the next day.  And again and again.  I began looking forward to the back-up I’d usually encounter at the tolls I went through en-route to work (back in the olden days before ez-pass, etc.). I loved how people responded to the bubbles. Kids waved. A guy on a Harley honked. Teenaged girls in a Beetle cheered and waved. A man pulled up beside me and called out: “Will you marry me?” (how I responded is another story entirely … perhaps I’ll tell that another time, joy factor peeps …)

One day I arrived at the toll booth and the woman inside waved me on … “He paid for you,” she said, indicating the car that sped on ahead of me. “He said thanks.”

Fast forward 10 years, and I’m still blowing bubbles out my car’s window. I’ve seen cranky faces stuck in 5 mile back-ups turn to smiles; I’ve watched notoriously merge-adverse New York and New Jersey drivers open up and give way with ease; and now I even keep small bottles of bubbles in my car to pass out to the happiest responders when I’m in particularly slow traffic.

Blowing bubbles out of the window of my car has an almost (forgive the pun) effervescent effect on the world. And what an easy and delightful way to make a difference … spreading a little fun and adding my bit to the cosmic joy-factor.

Give it a try; I highly recommend it.