Leave the great indoorsnotes on the journey

A couple recently walked by me and gave each other a spontaneous high five.  My first thought was that we really don’t see enough of that.  They were pushing a baby in a stroller, he said something, they laughed, and in one synchronous movement they shared this high five as if they were the only two people in the world.  It stopped me dead in my tracks.

The Wikipedia definition of the high five is pretty dry, but it’s a good place to start:

The high five is a celebratory hand gesture that occurs when two people simultaneously raise one hand, about head high, and push, slide or slap the flat of their palm and hand against the palm and flat hand of their partner

You wouldn’t think that such a thing would be open to controversy, but apparently the origin of the high five is a bit of hotly contested history.  The most credible story is that it started in US baseball in the 70s, but of course there’s some basketball player who says he executed the first high five in the 60s.

But I guess the origin or meaning is not that important.  What is important is, why was this couple high five-ing?  What did he say to her to elicit that response?  As a new dad myself, I feel like it had to be something about the baby.  Probably something like “Look, she just fell asleep!” or “Did you see her poop isn’t yellow any more?”

What’s also important is why this struck me as so odd.  It shouldn’t. Walking through a mall should expose us to one giant high five circus.

Maybe I find it odd because when we’re knee deep in parenting, we tend to not have the time or the inclination to look up long enough to see the high five-able moments.  Maybe it’s because, as I wrote earlier, we forget that life is staggering.  Or  maybe it’s because we lower the bar too much to save us from disappointment — or as Frank Chimero put it (much more eloquently than I ever could):

When does the magic of a situation fade? When do we get acclimated to the exceptional? Is this how we get by? Would anything get done if we were constantly gobsmacked? Is this how we survive, how we stay sane? We define a pattern, no matter how exceptional, and acclimate ourselves to it?

I guess what I’m trying to say is, we need to high five each other more.  Couples, especially, need to find those moments of celebration.  Because things can get pretty bleak if you don’t raise your hands every once in a while.  So, here you go, a gift from me to you:

^5.

You’re welcome.