5 Happy Things

It's the middle of January, so between the cold and dark you have to make sure that you're remembering all the good going on around you.

1. Late dinners with J
We've gotten into the habit of feeding the kids dinner around 5:30 or 6 but waiting to eat ourselves until 8 or so when they're in bed. My Mom used to do this for my Dad on Monday nights (and other nights when he used to work late) and I'm beginning to see the appeal. This way James can eat something that we know he'll eat (like carrots and hummus or pb&j) and we can eat something nice and fancy later on, like a good soup or something exotic. We get out the nice silverware and plates, light candles (can't do that with the boys at the table) and pour a little wine. Then we can talk without checking to remind anyone that eating peas with your fingers is bad manners and remember to swallow before you put the whole sandwich in your mouth.

2. Playing principal trumpet in the orchestra this week
I enjoy playing 2nd, of course. It's a very different set of challenges, mostly making sure that I'm supporting and blending into what's going into the top voice, trying to read their mind about pitch and style. When I play first, I feel graceful and powerful and noble. (Especially when it's going well.) It's a little bit, I think, what it must be like to be a horse running freely on some Mediterranean plain. And, more than, anything else, playing trumpet feels like my own voice. If I hear my own speaking voice played back on a recording it sounds familiar but also jarringly odd...is that what I really sound like? Playing trumpet feels more like my own voice than speaking or writing, and when I play principal I'm freed up from blending into someone else's voice.

3. Great coffee
J's Mom is one of the most conscientious gift-givers I know. In years past she's had J sneak through my closet to get my sizes for dress shirts and sneak through my library to find out about books I don't have. She found a reading lamp for a study, a brown betty teapot for my coffee drawer, and this past year a box of Zabar's coffee. Zabar's is amazing New York City coffee that I got turned onto when our friend Janette brought some back after living there for a summer. I've worked my way through one bag already and just finished a press pot of the Ethiopian bag this morning. At 5:30 in January with the thermostat turned all the way down, it's sometimes hard to force yourself out of bed. Knowing that there's amazing coffee downstairs makes it easier.

4. Uncles and Aunts
We had two spontaneous visits last week, one from O&K and the other from L&his girlfriend Melissa. (Melissa can't be abbreviated to a single letter, otherwise she looks like Martha!) O&K got snowed in with us for the night, which turned out to be great fun for the four (plus three) of us. L&Melissa came over on the night that I had James and Owen to myself the whole day, and I don't know how I could've gotten through everything without their help. Melissa held Owen while I gave James a bath. (Traumatic, as always) L played with James while I tried to give Owen another bottle. (Also traumatic) They both went along with James' "fwiends" and played marble run while Owen was cranking and I was putting away dinner. J is a saint for doing this every day.

5. Two cars
The Corolla is back. Speaking of being at home with two kids, it's really nice to be a two car family again. It appears to be running fine, per my rigorous inspection. (It turns on fine and doesn't sound any different than before the accident.) I paid the deductible, for which I ought to be reimbursed, and drove it back from Syracuse two days ago. The only fault I could find so far is that the windshield wiper fluid appears to be empty. I think I have some in the garage and should probably get outside and refill the reservoir. But right now it's mid-January in Rochester and I have a press pot of really good coffee on my desk, so that will probably need to wait until later.