Blueberry

So, I shlump into work today and am told that all the work from over the weekend, the work that is usually done electronically, has been done on paper. This means many things to me. First, it means that I will need to acquire lots of paperwork. Second, it means I will have to type what is written on the paper into an electronic system. Third, it means that I will have to call people who would prefer not to speak to me on their days off to bother them about their atrocious handwriting on said paperwork. Fourth, and probably the most relevant to me, it means I can kiss my lunch hour goodbye. And so I kissed it and sent it on its way. Goodbye, lunch hour. Hello, cubicle.

My boss decided that she would 'make it up to us' by ordering us pizza. (And yes, I am about to complain about a free lunch, in case you were picking up on a tone already.)

It's not the idea of a free lunch that bothered me. It's really what the pizza represents. And what does it represent, exactly? It represents the idea that pizza (or any carb-rich, salty food, really) is an equal exchange for an hour away from the shackles of our drab, dreary, quiet office life.

One day last week, I had the opportunity to take my full hour for lunch. I ate quickly at my desk, then drove to a nearby lake. I walked down one of the trails, found a quiet bench tucked away near the lake's shore, and read a chapter of a very well-written book while soaking up the sun. When I returned to the office, I was renewed, refreshed, full of energizing Vitamin D, and endlessly grateful for a job that not only pays me fairly, but allows me to leave for an hour a day. Now that is a lunch hour.

Blah, blah, blah, work leaves me unfulfilled, blah. I'm even tired of hearing about that.

On another note, on Saturday I got to see my best friend's parents. I guess the only way I can explain how they are is to say that they feel and express feelings so freely. Their joy is absolute, and when it's aimed at you, you feel like you're engulfed in sunshine. We only spent a little time together on Saturday, but I walked away with a big smile, and I could hear them laughing behind me. I feel incredibly lucky to have them in my life.

There have been other things: a bike ride, an opera, the forecast of several inches of snow, brunch in uptown with an old friend, and something bigger than I could probably get into right now, but let's just say I think I've figured out what my year is going to be about, and really, what the rest of my life will be about. But that's for another time.

Hope you're all well!
xo