Skip to main content

Nostalgia...Simple

Today I write with a slightly heavy heart.  My apartment is chilly, the sky is cloudy, the air outside is bitter and there is a slight dusting of snow covering the ground.  As the day approaches four o'clock, it hits me:  Late afternoon is the most depressing time of day.

I am not sad, but speculative.  Something about the midwinter chill brings a wave a nostalgia to my mind and leaves me feeling sort of mournful.  As I sit here, I reflect on lost or broken friendships, long dormant memories of warm nights filled with laughter and excitement, the invincible feeling that precedes a bad decision....  I hear the introductory notes of Tennessee Ernie Ford's Sixteen Tons come over the radio and suddenly I feel "another day older and deeper in debt."  I stare off for a moment to reflect on this and am only brought out of my reverie by the sound of Betty, my eccentric black cat, who is the only living creature that snores while awake.  This brings a smile to my face and I remember that, despite the grey surroundings of this particular moment in time, I really do have it good.

Although I often complain about the mundane life I lead, the lack of excitement in my work and the overall mediocrity I feel personally, I am blessed beyond compare.  The people, places and things in my life are certainly not perfect, but they are mine all the same and are, therefore, an essential part of my being.  There is nothing in the world that would even tempt me to sacrifice a single one of them for something "better."  Nothing.

With that thought in mind, I make the decision not to wallow in self-pity for the rest of this melancholy afternoon.  No, instead I will close the blinds and turn on all the lights in my apartment to brighten up the mood and see if I can't get Betty high on catnip because there is nothing more precious in this life than simple pleasures.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

France 2012 - Carnac

le 2 novembre At around 7 a.m. this morning, Habibi and I set sail (sorry, I'll stop using nautical terms now) for the small, coastal town of Carnac, located in Bretagne  (Brittany).  Upon arriving at the small, cozy  H ô tel An Ti Gwenn  ( Breton  for "white house"), we were warmly received and led to our calm little slice of heaven.  Remember, we had just left our tiny, disgusting fish bowl of a room, so the pleasant smells and fresh, clean bedding were welcome! Exterior view of the  Hôtel An Ti Gwenn View of the back garden from one of our windows Peeking through the main window into the side garden Our clean, fresh salle de bains Notre chambre We stopped for a quick lunch at a local s alon de thé  before heading to the tourism office at the center of town.  The main square was adorned with a lovely old church (typical of just about every French community, regardless of the size), several small tourist shops, bars and  crêperies. A

Mitt Romney: Problem Solver By A Fool's Standards

I know I bash politics a lot because, I'll just come right out and say it, I think they're silly.  My indifference to most things allows me the leisurely amusement of getting a rise out of people who are particularly hot on any given subject.  However, like most individuals who actually do give a shit, I also have a set of criteria on what I look for in a candidate and -republican or democrat- I will vote for whomever I feel best meets that criteria. But today, I find myself at a loss for words. http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/02/15/146929766/why-romneys-shaggy-dog-story-wont-die While I haven't exactly been a Romney fan up until this point, I am somewhat sympathetic to those under constant scrutiny.  I suppose he has faced his fair share.  But we do make our own beds, do we not?  This is positively inexcusable.  I would sooner vote for a chimp in a scuba suit than this imbecile.  Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to see all such despicable cr

The Joys of Fall and Eating Dinner

When I was just a little tike, I learned a song about Halloween.  The lyrics went something like this: Jack-O-Lantern, Jack-O-Lantern, You are such a pretty sight, As you sit there in the window, Looking out on the night! You were once a yellow pumpkin, Growing on a sturdy vine. Now you are a Jack-O-Lantern, See the candlelight shine! I know it isn't exactly Hemingway (thank goodness), but poor Habibi found me singing it to myself in the bathroom this morning as I was getting ready for the day.  (Oh, shut up.)  For your enjoyment (obviously) I've included the inspiration for my morning concert below: WE GOT TO CARVE OUR PUMPKIN LAST NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!! I love Halloween.  Every year around this time I start to get the jitters as though something terribly exciting and adventurous is about to happen.  I love the crunch of fall leaves, crispy mornings, eerie evenings and smoky nights.  Spooky stories, haunted houses, the smell of a campfire an