I spent Thanksgiving back in New York and it was great to see family, friends and my doggies. For the record, no one gives a more enthusiastic “welcome home” than doggies!
I was relieved — and humbled– to find life at home was going along swimmingly without me. But everyone was kind enough to say how much I was missed. Friends got married, retired, switched jobs, had birthdays and got new hair styles — all quite successfully and all without me. Of course, I didn’t expect things to come to a grinding halt without me. But at some point I realised that I secretly hoped (and was actively looking!) to find some tangible evidence that I was still needed. Nope. Guess I need to practice mindfulness and focus on the intangibles…
Highlights:
• My fave server (AND dear friend, AND true princess) at my fave local restaurant greeted me with flowers at brunch.
• Wood Fires in the fireplace (versus rubbish fires on the sidewalk).
• I had (almost) all my fave New York foods — fresh sushi, NY pizza, fresh apple cider, bagels, Italian on Arthur Ave, Spanish tapas at O lar, French from Alain’s. And Indian — which was still good even with my new wealth of Indian dining experiences against which to compare. And yes, those are all New York foods.
• We cracked open what we call our “wine cellar. ” See my earlier post about wine in India for context.
Mixed Bag:
• It was a joy to actually drive myself again. Although, when it came time to park or when stuck in traffic, I certainly missed having a driver.
• Snow. It was lovely to see falling and in the yard — but the super cold (relatively speaking). Clearly, my blood has thinned. And the hours of darkness vs daylight made me dread winter…
😦
• I missed those ubiquitous cows!
• Xmas ads galore –Radio, paper, internet, TV. Without that, ahem, smooth holiday build up starting around Halloween, the level of ads for Xmas and Black Friday is shocking & grotesque. I mean, even more so than when your slowly acclimated to it.
• Tappan Zee Bridge construction.
• Saying good bye to everyone again!
Dez in India 