Things I Love.

So, I just discovered that certain websites where you can blog, actually DELETE your old blogs after a certain time to make room for the new stuff (cough cough cough, MYSPACE, cough, cough, cough).

Me being someone who collects a lot, and has crates of old journals, papers from college, attempts at short stories and what have you - I don't like this. So over the next few days I'm going to pull stuff off that site and plop it down here. Epizoodiks's intent is to blog memories, and some of these are that. Others are just different kinds of "coughs". We will get back to regularly scheduled programming (Things I'll Miss About Pittsburgh) soon. Thanks for your indulgence...

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Originally published elsewhere, August 31, 2007

A few things I love:
summer nights with screaming crickets and cicadas, hot, sultry summer nights on Hanover Avenue in Richmond, circa 1992, oysters, dry martinis with lots of olives, the smell of the beach, the smell of garlic cooking, my husband, my beautiful dog Lois's soulful eyes and her gentle snore, swimming in the ocean, falling asleep to the sound of waves, spaghetti carbonara, vietnamese pho, Ketel One Citron vodka tonics, sleeping late, afternoon naps, my mother's adventurous spirit, which I can feel inside of me when I'm driving my car with the stereo loud, Curtis Mayfield singing, "This year, this year." The laugh of the YaYas on my porch, my hammock gently swaying in the summer breeze, Lidia Bastianich's cooking show, flip flops and pedicures. I love the feeling of a Saturday morning and Bugs Bunny. Bacon and eggs with parmesan cheese and tarragon. I love and miss my Nana. I love sipping wine and pouring over old yearbooks with my sister, and I love the southern twang I hear in the voice of my nephews. It puts a pang in my heart because I know our family will live on in them. I love the teeny tiny moment of peace I feel after yoga and after my meditation practice. It's so fleeting and so precious. For just a moment I feel strong - I want to hold that moment forever.

A few things I could do without:
Desperate people, energy-sucking people, people who think they own the road, people who nitpik over every detail and can't step back, breathe a moment, and look at the big picture. Will this matter in 10 years? No? Then let it go, please. Fake people who smile in your face and make fun of you behind your back. Drama - it's almost never needed. Radishes. Iceberg lettuce. Pre-packaged food. The distance between me and my family. The immeasurable distance I feel sometimes between me and my friends. The sadness that comes over me sometimes for no apparent reason. Feeling sick to my stomach much of the time.

But I know that all of the things are in my life, love them or hate them, for a reason. And I'm learning to embrace the things I can do without. Hokey yes, but necessary.