Monday, November 10, 2003

Appreciating the Little Things with the Big Ones

This past weekend has been chock-full of sublime recreations and satisfactions that far exceed my ability to describe them.  I had a lovely time at happy hour; I got to meet the gorgeous Jules and her spouse, both of whom are fascinating and gracious people; I attended a delicious, enormous and highly educational (and enjoyable) wine tasting with old friends and some new ones; and then got to spend half of sunday showing winsome and witty Kate around a few favorite bits of the little city I call home.  By Sunday afternoon I had barely enough energy to get into bed to take a nap.  Laundry, groceries, and vacuuming have been joyfully deferred.

On the other hand, early on saturday morning I pulled a muscle in my back somehow; I was sitting, motionless, on a favorite wooden chair, and the muscle just shrank up on me, went into spasm and still hasn’t really come back.  I’ve kind of been fighting the discomfort all weekend, so today I took a nice strong pill from my days in recovery from a broken wrist, and I’ll hope for the best.  It’s working already, and though my typing is starting to suffer, the pain is a lot less intense. 

It does make me think, though, of how many good things I can appreciate in my life even after weekends that are far less fun or provocative than mine was.  So here, fumbling its way through my lorcet-addled mind, is a list (of course) of THINGS THAT GIVE ME DISPROPORTIONATE SATISFACTION:

* When my signature comes out properly and attractively
* Being told I have a “radio voice”
* When the bus pulls up and opens its doors exactly where I’m standing
* When the cool barkeep knows my order and gets it for me before I even ask, before he even talks to other people who were already waiting
* Having read whatever book other people are discussing (not a very frequent occurrance)
* Exactly enough cereal in the box for one good bowl
* Pulling a cork from any bottle of wine
* When channel-surfing, coming back to the show I really wanted to be watching just as it comes back from a commercial break
* Giving directions to lost tourists
* Being able to stand steady on a moving bus without touching the poles
* Using FastTrak to avoid bridge toll lines
* A freshly made bed
* Compliments on my clothes from strangers
* Recognizing artistic or architectural influences in important works
* A good - or terrible - play on words
* Kicking something I encounter on the sidewalk clean and true and far

This list is not exclusive, but then again, neither am I.  The world is full of weird little things that can just totally make your day if you take a moment to appreciate them.  I warmly invite your additions to this list; I’m always in the market for more stuff to be happy about.  Have an unexpectedly pleasant monday.