Sunday, May 18, 2014

When the quotidian is sublime

It was a good week. Just a typical, nothing outrageous, week, but it was brilliant.

Work is super enjoyable and not stressful at the moment. Do you realize what a big difference it makes when you're not constantly rushing to and from the office, preparing for meetings and presentations, worried if what you're producing is good enough? Of course you do - we all do it, all the time. Thankfully, my job has been so manageable lately - the perfect balance of business. And I'm loving my colleagues. And we're temporarily working in Soho, which makes coming and going every day, not to mention the lunch options (I'm currently obsessed with Birdbath), a joy.
I'm back at yoga once or twice a week and have time to read.

There were two great meals out this week: At Sfoglia and Waverly Inn. They're both so charming and cozy, and absolutely delicious, I want to move right in.



The former was a brilliant solo date, where I took myself out for a meal before going to see Michael Pollan, my hero, the reason I haven't eaten red meat in 15 years (!) now, at the 92Y. I get panicky when I don't have reading material so I went to the fabulous Kitchen Arts  & Letters beforehand and chose Molly Wizenberg's new memoir, only to discover when I got to the Y that we got a free copy of Cooked - woohoo!


The latter was a brilliant date-date with my man. He made reservations for dinner and got tickets to see John Wesley Harding's Cabinet of Wonders at City Winery. Just for fun.
 
It was the second Saturday night in a row that we went into the city for a night of it, last weekend being my friend's lovely wedding, where we had fun, dancing and laughing with old friends. (And took note, since our wedding is now less than a month away!)

In fact, this past week also included a tasting with our caterer...
... and we're trying to wrap up all loose ends, final details and backup plans.

I even had time to finish a freelance assignment.

And Andrew ran the Brooklyn Half Marathon, so I met him out at the finish line in Coney Island. He's a champ - made the whole thing look easy.
I am so mindful right now of how much I'm enjoying the pace and contents of life. So my question is: what is the secret? How do I hold onto this feeling of awareness, appreciation and balance? I know work is going to pick up. That stress will come as the wedding gets closer. That I'll simply wake up one morning, less aware, more ambivalent. How do we preserve the days of fulfillment and always draw strength and inspiration from them?

6 comments:

  1. If you find out how to hold onto that feeling, please share! I ask myself the same question on good weeks : )

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  2. A few years ago when I was pestering you about your job in Paris I dreamed of maybe taking over the fabulous life you were leading, too. Now, I kinda want the love and joy you have in NYC. I'm so thrilled that life back here is so wonderful for you. And as for your question, I think knowing you have that awareness now, and wanting to maintain it in the future is half the battle. Enjoy the rollercoaster -- the ups and the downs. And PS, LOVE the gloves. Vous etres trés chic!

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  3. At the times in my life that everything seemed too perfect, too happy and so full, I worried that things would not stay the same, that something would change ..
    Every day, every minute, things do change.
    You will continue to have feelings like the ones you have now, but different.
    As you change, your life changes, people in your life change .. it is all good.
    What you want to do is keep the joy in the way you greet the change, the way you live with it... and when there is a slump and you feel like you lost it .. just relax, don't try to find it ... just be calm and it will come back to you.
    Joy is always with you .. sometimes it kind of gets lost with all the Other Stuff that comes along, but if you stop and just wait a moment, you will find it again... and your feelings about what gives you joy change all the time too .. new joy will come.

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  4. Linds, if/when I find the magic answer, I will pass it on, don't you worry! Though re-reading my post, I do think awareness is part of it and *balance.* That is my achilles heel anyway.

    Candice, as always, thank you for your lovely and thoughtfully put words. I'm so happy this crazy blogosphere brought you to my life!

    And Laura, thank you for the note - you make me feel like a lottery winner. :) And in many ways I am, which is probably why I'm feeling so happy and fulfilled. I know the happy/full heart feeling won't last forever, but I'm savoring as long as it will be with me...

    And as for those gloves... would you believe I got them for my senior prom?! And then over 20 years later, they were just as fabulous... but would you believe I left them in the taxi at the end of the night?! Trop triste... I'm seriously bummed!

    ReplyDelete
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