:Last Week I...:
The Good, The Bad & The Lessons From the Past Week
Last week, I finally had CJ back after a very long business trip to Europe. This was supposed to be my inaugural trip with him but I changed my plans due to the start of school and all of the new activities that come with it. My 2020 goal is to eliminate any other excuses that are holding me back from visiting Europe and to just get over there. But let’s put a pin in that idea for a future post.
Because I had my partner, I was able to get back into my own routine, which always feels so grounding.
The Good
Style412 hosted a film series and I was delighted to be there for both the Clueless brunch (which I attended with Stella) AND the Halston documentary on Thursday night. A few folks pregamed at TRYP, which is just around the corner from Row House Cinema, where the doc was being shown. I had never been to TRYP but it certainly lived up to the beautiful photos I have seen. The sun was giving us its golden light, the city was rising in all her glory, and I got some long overdue slow time with some of my favorite insta friends.
I took a random vacation day on Friday. That’s good enough on its own! But the bonuses were that I had the time to go to a yoga class taught by one of my all-time favorite instructors at Yoga Flow. It was the perfect way to start my day. Then I had an impromptu lunch with one of my greatest friends and literally the first person I met in Pittsburgh. It’s been too long since we saw each other last. The time we had together served to fill the spiritual tank.
Friday evening was spent with my work husband, who is one of the most supportive, encouraging and empowering people I have ever met. One-on-one time with him always sparks a renewed vigor for my work. It was with this delightful human that I got to see Jonathan Van Ness, live and in person! All of the energy on Friday was way up and beautiful and it had me feeling so good about what’s to come.
Stella’s soccer team played in the rain (a first for her and she was clearly not enjoying it!) and they won. She’s made great progress and every week I see just a bit more confidence in her skills. We celebrated with brunch at The Porch, where she indulged in hot chocolate and skillet cinnamon buns.
Is it just us or does it seem like everyone’s lives are so tightly orchestrated that there is rarely ever time to just happen into something with friends? Well, Saturday evening we got an out-of-the-blue text. Hey, we’re making dinner, listening to music, drinking beer. Wanna come over? YEP. It was so organic and quite perfect. Thank goodness for like-minded souls.
The Bad
This was our final week with our sweet boy, Murphy. For 12 years, we’ve had this 90 lb. black blur zooming around our home. It was a rare sight to catch Murphy without a ball in his mouth. He only ever wanted to play and was indiscriminate about who his buddies were. Nobody could outrun him, except that one time when two Great Danes came to the dog park. His undying energy always left him looking back at us wondering when we would catch up. He especially loved to go camping, where he would find the largest downed branches and try to bring them back to camp for throwing, despite his head being twisted almost completely to the ground from the weight. He always found the energy for whatever task, which made it even harder to watch arthritis take over his hind legs. His degeneration happened very quickly. Even still, he ran. Dragging his hind legs until his toes bled if it meant being in the thick of things. We have so many stories with Murphy in them. Our family has a big hole left behind this week.
There are some things I won’t share about Stella because they’re private and the world doesn’t need to know. All I will say is that sometimes being a parent, even when your kid is the most awesome, is really challenging.
Murphy snoozing in my office while I work.
The Lessons
Make up excuses to see friends. Don’t over complicate things. Just text or call and see what happens.
You are just as good as anyone you admire. What do you want from your work? Set goals. Do it now. You have it in you.
Parenting is hard. You’re doing great, sweetie.
We don’t deserve dogs. So give yours whatever it is they love the most and do it often.
