As I sit to write this morning and I’m thinking about family and friends, I realize I talk a lot about them. While on one hand I wonder “is it too much?” I also feel a profound sense of gratitude that when I do focus on writing this, it’s often those things that bubble to the top of my mind…which I suppose is better than being inspired by things like anger, frustration, and malaise…you know? So here’s a(nother) family and friends-inspired post this fine Maiku Monday.
Magical moments.
Large and small, light and heavy.
Be a magician.
Since Friday, things have been pretty amazing. I don’t throw superlatives around lightly, mainly because a) I don’t want to run afoul of Karma and b) I know it can all turn on a dime—don’t wanna jinx anything. But sometimes you have experiences when only the most superlative superlatives will do for describing things and alas that’s the state I’m in this morning…the weekend was pretty f-cking perfect.
I set out at 7:30 Saturday morning to grab the tickets out of my sister’s mailbox and then drove across town to pick up my mom for the ride to Wellesley for the Babson College undergraduate commencement. Gorgeous day, no traffic, parked in the lot we hoped/planned to, found my sis and bro-in-law without issue, and then watched a great ceremony/day unfold. The highest point without a doubt was seeing my nephew’s eyes at full sparkle. I could feel his happiness. And there’s something special about feeling the happiness of someone you care so deeply for. This kid is a second-born/middle with a high-achieving brother 14 months older. I’m a second-born/middle/Jan Brady with a high-achieving sister 14 months older. Needless to say, I’ve always felt a special kinship with him, and that’s a contributing factor to me experiencing his happiness viscerally…made my heart feel like it was about to burst, all day long. We took lots of pictures, drank some champagne at the reception (cheers!), and then hit a house party before heading out. I drove mom home, watched the Bruins lose Game 7, and still slept like a baby.
Then, in a moment of extreme deja vu, I set out at 7:30 again yesterday. The route to my destination was similar to Saturday’s so I was able to spend some of the ride reflecting on the previous day’s events…and while I didn’t necessarily feel like I needed to process them, I was grateful for the time I had to do so. It’s important to take and make space to think about stuff, good and bad—to appreciate it, to learn from it…to remember it, to internalize it. So starting the day with some quiet solo thinking time was a treat I didn’t know I needed. I arrived at Hopkinton State Park just before they closed the roads, found a parking space, and stated off on foot, following the signs to the course. I touched base with my friend once I landed at the swim finish and we fixed that as our meeting point. She found me a few minutes later, we exchanged a quick hug, and chit chatted while we watched the swimmers coming out of the water. It wasn’t long before we saw our athlete of interest, her son, emerge. He seemingly flew through the first leg of the triathlon. We chatted some more and caught up as the bikes and runners whizzed and sprinted by…but we were attentive enough to see him going in and out on the bike and were right by the finish line as he ran across (completing the run in sub-8 minute miles—what‽). He really made child’s play of the thing—absolutely crushed it (ah, the young and their youth!). We hung around for some of the post-event festivities and once noon hit, headed off for lunch and beers at a local brewery. It was great. So fun spending time with a bestie and her son (who has become a great friend of mine over time—BONUS!) on an absolutely gorgeous New England Spring day. (Friendships that cross generations are something extra-special!)
I got home and enjoyed watching the Celtics win Game 7 (lasted through half the game outside before I was covered with a fine yellow film of itch-inducing pollen; showered that down the drain after the game), then chilled on the couch, breathing in and breathing out all of the goodness of the weekend, trying to recycle it through my system as much as I could…and also trying to stay awake to see the Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse. Which I did. It was hard to see due to clouds (unavoidable and nothing we could do) and position in the sky (unavoidable but addressable) so we hopped in the car (wearing pajamas—gasp!), hoping to find a good viewing spot by the pond (we didn’t). (Kerri noted that she hoped we didn’t get pulled over given what we were wearing so I suggested if we did we could say that we were e going to Walmart—the place where pajamas and slippers are a popular wardrobe choice. Reminder—prep your alibi in advance! 😂😂😂) We eventually each found a spot in the yard with a view through the trees, at the right height, and caught a fine glimpse. Then with a quick “goodnight, moon”, the weekend came to a close as I headed to bed.
So yeah, it was a pretty-f-cking perfect weekend…with all due respect to Karma. And yeah, I know it can all turn on a dime. It’s not like I’m all fatalistic, and in fact as a rule I aim to be optimistically realistic, but you never know, you know? So when you ask yourself “why not?” and can’t answer your own question, it’s time to do it, to say yes. Time to be a magician and to create those magical moments.
Magical moments.
Large and small, light and heavy.
Be a magician.
Hope you had a good weekend, if not a pretty f-cking perfect one. Thanks for starting the week here, with me. I appreciate it, very much.
Have a great week. Love you too.
Time and space to reflect on things both “good” and “bad” is a greatly undervalued activity. It’s a magic wand in and of itself.
Thanks again, Nicole.