Add to the "This I Believe" series

I believe one should never miss the opportunity to shout “Woooo!”

Let me explain.

Some months ago, my overcomplicated brain was busily chugging along trying to think of new ways to overcomplicate my world and the world of those around me while I was driving my kids to some kid-thing or another. I love to find difficult answers to easy questions. And of course difficult answers to difficult questions really make me happy. And so I obfuscate and create twists of logic that mirror the path of a rollercoaster.

This, to me, is fun.

So as I’m undergoing this current round of cerebral gymnastics, I approach a cloverleaf exit from the freeway. I’m a pretty tame driver, and I take the sharp curve at a slow approach in my sports car (which is how my wife refers to the minivan that is our family vehicle). From the back seat, I hear a mild - but nevertheless declarative - “wooooo!”

My daughter, 11 years old at the time, had her hands in the air as if my mental rollercoaster had somehow taken shape in the real world and my most recent 100 foot drop impacted my daughter’s stomach as much as my brain. I gave her a slight raise of one eyebrow through the rearview mirror, which said “Really, now?” as much as it was an inquiry. And she gave me back this amazing piece of wisdom:

You should never miss a chance to go “woooo!”

So it wasn’t the fastest she’s ever ridden. It wasn’t the most amazing slope. It wasn’t a lot of things. But it was a lot more fun than just going straight on a freeway. So why not?

Why not, indeed.

My daughter isn’t the first person to make this observation; she was just the one who got it into my head again despite my Rube Goldberg mind. You’ve heard others say Stop and Smell the Roses, or similar stuff. I think it’s better to boil it down to having fun, even a little bit of fun, when there is fun to be had.

Never miss a chance to shout woooo.