Kristine Joy, Writer

To Whom It May Concern and FWIW,*

• I need for more marriages to be like that of my parents, Nick & Susan, Nan & Jerry, Matt & Tammy, John & Kandi (as opposed to John Candy if you’re wondering why that sounds familiar), Mike & Ellen, Scott & Claire and Nathan & Jeanne (the latter three couples are parents + offspring 👏👊❤️), amongst many others that inspire me daily. #couplegoals #coupleswhowalktogetherstaytogether (advice from Nick & Susan)

• I needed for my friend (and her family) to send me a Garmin Forerunner 955 watch for my birthday this past December.
  • When Somebody Loves You, there’s nothing you can’t do (and this includes (even) running; see next need)! #truefriendship

• I need to fulfill the first-time itch to BE a runner. When people ask if I run triathlon races, I admit, “No, I swim and bike triathlon races, and then merely have the will to finish.” The itch may not last long so I needed to Jump Right In!
  • Having trail ran each of the last two days:
    • I needed to have scored higher than a Garmin Execution Score of 0% on at least one of these runs.
    • I needed to read TOO SLOW fewer times on my watch.
    • I needed to be told TOO LOW (of a pace) fewer times through my AirPods.
    • I needed for the ‘6 minutes at an 8:10 pace’ set to not start at the bottom of an uphill root-laden trail that I could not see the top of.
      • I needed to not have tripped over one of those tree roots shortly after telling myself #youcandothis.
      • I may or may not have needed to spend two minutes re-creating the image of me on the ground so that you had a visual.
        • After re-creating the image, I may or may not have needed to see the fisherman below staring up at me in bewilderment and/or in head shake mode over the stupidity of social media.
    • I needed for my highest achieved heart rate over the course of the two runs to have been the result of me flying through the trees as opposed to a literal jump scare:

• Despite my protestations above, I needed to score 0% twice because facts are facts. I am not a runner. Yet.

• My pen name is an inside joke (but not inside to the point you cannot find the humor within). I need a tribe of intellectual wordplay jokesters to laugh with me, or at me (I’m comfortable in my own skin and really don’t mind) for being nerdy.
  • Feel free to email me props if you figure it out and find me so deserving.

• I needed to hear that Ethan, a twenty something driven soul that I’ve given pickleball lessons to here and there, took an offhand comment that I made, “Your girlfriend is in Ankeny? I don’t know of any pickleball for you in Ankeny in the form of players, facilities, courts…” and decided to build a facility himself! #mysmallpart #builditandtheywillcome

• I was sitting next to a friend at a restaurant years ago. I didn’t need to see the calendar reminder that popped up on his phone with the label, ‘Snippety Snip‘.
  • But, far worse, I really didn’t need to learn of recent that his wife is pregnant AND be told confirmation that his procedure was a success.

• I need to not have been called all of the following in my lifetime: cheap, a pessimist (do I sound like a pessimist always talking about what I need?), irrational, crazy (as in irrational), crazy (as in weird), judgmental, indecisive, not driven, unhappy, not content, full of sh!+ (I may have been at the time depending on what I was espousing), self righteous, indifferent to life, disturbed and too d@mn self-sufficient (in a bad way).
  • But, #awarenessisthefirststep and/or if/when more a reflection on the verbalizer –> Men in Black Neuralyzer Mind Wipe turned on, 🎇, process complete.
    • I need for my friend, Shannon, to correct me or applaud me for using and/or if/when back-to-back in the same sentence. Grammatically acceptable? Grammatically correct?

I appreciate your readership. I need the validation as writer; if there is a like or heart icon for you to depress, I’d most appreciate the support!

Sincerely,

K.J. Sculling

* The content is presented as “needs”, and some of them may front a harsh reality that evoke strong emotions. Others are expressed in pure jest to entertain myself (and maybe you?!?). Ultimately, the notion that we all live in a more idyllic world is at the core and not actual need. Life can be tough; regardless of your own circumstances, please keep up the fight because life can also be grand! The idea of ‘I Need…’ stemmed from my thought process while sitting at a red light listening to the song, Alright by Darius Rucker, on the radio (you can read the original ‘Idealist’ post here and all ‘Idealist’ posts here). If you’re inspired to submit your own ‘Idealist’ “needs” for future reader write-in posts, I’d love to hear from you via this form.