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“I Want to Complicate My Life”


April 15, 2025
No one ever uttered the sentence that is the title of today’s blog post.

And, yet, our modern tendency is NOT to simplify, but to complicate. When we’re younger, we might have thought that a simple life is a boring life. But, by the time we’ve hit 50, we know our life could use a little downsizing. In that spirit, I penned this poem below. 

“Why Do I Do This?”

I wanted toast. Just toast. That’s it.
Then I made a spread, a whole buffet.
A Pinterest board, a custom kit—
Now it’s brunch for thirty. Yay?

I went to buy one simple chair.
Came back with six and vintage rugs.
A feng shui guide. A cedar stair.
And four artisanal coffee mugs.

My calendar was clean last week—
Now I’ve got three book clubs and Zumba,
A goat-yoga class (twice a week),
Will summit Machu Picchu before Aruba.

My closet holds six types of coats—
In case I’m skiing in Nepal.
Or starring in a period piece
Where long tails matter most of all.

I know I could just do one thing,
Not build a theme park out of it.
But chaos has a certain ring…
Besides, I’ll blog about it.

-Chip

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