A sweet finale
The last week of 2005 has been so positive and fun. Some highlights:
– A spontaneous trip to quaint Bay Head with my sister, where we checked out some shops and bought Mom a birthday cake.
– A Christmas day spent with my niece and nephew, both preemies, who beat the odds to get here and are now thriving.
– Some wonderful surprise gifts from special people, including a DVD player from a sweet friend who knew it was time I joined the “real” world.
– An overdue visit to a friend, who served a festive champagne punch and other goodies.
– An under-the-weather friend rallying so he could join me for a fab Italian birthday dinner and cupcake a la mode.
– A neat party and light dinner with a friend eager to take a break from her insanely busy life working for a film director.
– This very morning, a workout that prompted my body to whisper to me over and over again, “Thank you, thank you, thank you …”
Sweet.
Many happy returns
I had gift money and gift cards. So I spent the afternoon shopping. With glee.
Went to ABC Carpet and Home to buy a ring I had seen while holiday browsing. Had to have it. A tiny daisy made of gem stones. Looks vintage, my friend says. He’s right. I wear it on my right pinkie. It’s dainty and dazzling. A dainty and dazzling daisy.
Then I went to Macy’s. That can get overwhelming. But I had a wallet mission. My current leather wallet/keychain is frayed and falling apart. Found myself in the Coach department. Bought a black wristlet. Way cool.
Happy Birthday to me.
Loved
I’m feeling very loved this Christmas season. I don’t know if I’ve ever appreciated that about my life before.
How very fortunate I am.
Inspiring friend
My friend’s book came out today. It’s very exciting! The Barnes and Noble in Hoboken has done a whole window on her book, which is called Give It Up! She’s a professional organizer and within an hour of a casual conversation with her last week, I found myself buying a Filofax. What a hoot.
But back to the book. For a whole year, she gave up something each month — i.e., cellphone, dining out — and wrote her observations and experiences. It’s about simplifying your life. I’m looking forward to digging in.
I love that my friends are so creative and witty and accomplished. It’s very inspiring and keeps life interesting.
Peace
I realize today that I am ending this year with a kind of peace I’ve never experienced before. It’s hard to explain, this feeling of quiet confidence in my art, my life coaching, my decisions, my relationships. It allows me to give more freely, receive more graciously, breathe more deeply. It means I am more open to love and be loved, to trust myself and others, to take responsibility for my actions.
I have worked hard. I have learned important lessons.
I am filled with gratitude.
Holly jolly Christmas
Cheer, family, nuttiness, sweet and generous gifts, epiphanies, food aplenty. That was my Christmas weekend.
On the train ride home, spent about an hour on the phone with a dear friend. She is wise and wonderful and a joy to talk to. Yet another gift.
Then I came home and found a box from Barnes & Noble propped against my door. It was a gorgeous hard-cover copy of Wuthering Heights. Another friend had sent it to me after a conversation we had over dinner last week. She had been talking about the Emily Bronte novel as her very favorite and I told her I hadn’t read it. Then, voila! I’m looking forward to digging in.
I am so blessed.
Striking
The transit strike is over. Hopefully jarring our routines gave us a chance to pause and appreciate some things.
I, for example, came away nearly unscathed and am ever grateful for that. I helped several folks navigate the PATH train system, which had added some trains to help out, and that felt good. And I battled a few crowds. But nothing compared to what I saw on the news.
I can’t help but wonder how many entrepreneurs gained a greater appreciation for workers who couldn’t get to work. I had a manager of a cafe serving my coffee the last three days. Some stores couldn’t open at all. This was life without many of the folks who bus tables, deliver food, work cash registers.
It was a chance for people who did make it to work to tell their tales of perseverence and resilience. Some came in with blisters. Others exhilarated. At the very least, some pounds were dropped and sleep came easily.
I feel for the businesses that lost significant money. I laud the people who kept their patience and even extended themselves. I hope MTA workers find peace in resolution.
What a week.
Day by day
It’s that time of year to buy a calendar for my appointments and such. I’ve been using a desk-size one the last few years and it feels too cumbersome to me now. Yet I want one big enough to accommodate all my coaching appointments and social commitments. This is a big decision for me.
I mean, I’m the type of person who makes buying a book of stamps a process. I bought a book today and I had a whole dialogue with the postal clerk about the purchase. “I love my country, but I’m sick of flags on my mail. How about flowers or something artsy?” I said. He painstakingly checked his inventory and found me stamps called New Mexico Rio Grande Blankets. They’re gorgeous. I was so grateful he told me I made his day.
But I digress. I was talking to a friend about buying an appointment book and she said she needed to really sit with the options before making a decision. I concurred. But then I found myself in a cafe with a life coaching client and trying to put our next appointment in the book, which will be in January. I had to squeeze it into a little space at the back of my 2005 book. I knew that wouldn’t do.
So then I found myself in a stationery store and the clerk was showing me all the merits of this new, very affordable Filofax organizer. It’s bright red. I just happen to have a shiny red pen and lead pencil set that would fit nicely into the pen loops. So much for “sitting with my options.” This just felt right. It’s classy and practical and feels good in the hand. It’s like I’m taking myself seriously.
All that from a calendar.
Right
When do I watch Dr. Phil? Almost never. But yesterday I happened to catch part of his show and I keep thinking about something he said. It’s not a new thought, but certainly one that bears repeating at certain times in our lives.
He was counseling a newly married couple whose union was already on the rocks and he finally asked, “Do you want to be married or do you want to be right?” Yowza. I really need to remember that sometimes. I loooooooooove to be right. I have to at least get the love down to a like.
That’s my confession for today.
Truth in art
I was reading a November issue of The New Yorker recently and found myself absorbed in an article about how Emile Zola and Paul Cezanne were the best of friends. That is, until Zola wrote a novel with a character based on Cezanne and the latter resented how he was represented. The story was absolutely fascinating, transporting me to a world occupied by Manet and Monet and the salons of Paris.
It all came to mind again when my sister spoke of writing a book about our extended family. I like the idea, but I explained to her that it can get complicated. Look at Zola and Cezanne, I said. We have some wonderful, heartfelt experiences to relate, but a true account would have to also include the negativity and the dysfunction. Otherwise, it’s not real. And if it’s not real, it won’t be interesting.
Zola knew this. That’s why he included the dark and the light. His portraits of people are multi-dimensional. It cost him a significant relationship.
That’s a chance we take in art.
