SIMPLE THINGS

I hate to be the type of person who needs to take stock of the simple, good things in her life – but turns out I AM.  That’s who I be.  Other than mashed potatoes, that is my favorite part of Thanksgiving!  Spending an entire day feeling thankful for things and focusing on the positive rather than the negative… (unless you think of the whole slaughter of Native Americans thing. Yikes.)

Lately, I’ve been feeling feeling a bit off.  Some might even call it blue.  But when I look around, I have nothing to feel unhappy about.  So, it's like, what’s the deal here?  I can’t even blame it on California anymore because god damnit, I kinda like this place.  So I started putting together a list of simple things that are making me happy right now.

Reading The Giver.  I never read The Giver, and if I did – I have no recollection, which isn’t something that happens often.  I recall A LOT.  I love reading books made for children because as I said to my boyfriend, “They’re powerful stories with short chapters.”  I have ADD, so it’s best for me to read important messages in tiny, bite-sized doses. But I do really enjoy this book… and there were parts I had to re-read to fully understand which makes me feel all kinds of intelligent. 

Going home. I have mixed feelings about trips home. I love Boston, it is my favorite city in the whole world. Being there makes me feel re-charged, especially during the summer. But typically, going home feels kind of weird and different because things have changed so much in the 1.5 years that I’ve been gone. In fact, a lot of my good friends don’t even live there anymore. When I leave to go back to Los Angeles, I feel bittersweet and usually wind up crying my eyes out in airports with big glasses of wine. That being said, I am really excited to go home. My friend is getting married, my travel plans aren’t terrible, I’m there for four full days, and I think it will be a good trip.

Ruthie.  As of this past Sunday, we’ve had her for a full year and I’m going to sound crazy but she makes me so happy.  My favorite time of day is when I come home from work, put my key in the door and hear her little bell running towards the door because she knows I’m home.  My favorite time of night is when she decides she’s too cold above the blankets, so she paws at my face or walks on me so I’ll know it’s time for her to cuddle with me.  I know it’s silly, but I have SO much love for that little baby feline who loves drinking our cups of water, having her belly rubbed and refuses to eat snacks outside of her meal times.

There we go. Happier already. (She says as she cries into a glass of Pinot Grigio.)