How To Enjoy Restaurants With Friends
My slightly-controversial list of rules for an enjoyable restaurant experience:
Aiming For Yes
My cousin made an insightful comment over Pesach: when she is with other people’s children, she tries to aim for yes. As she put it, “Kids hear ‘no’ so often, and if you’re spending time with them, it feels amazing to them when you say ‘yes’ where you can.” As in, yes, you can run to the corner and wait …
Book Buffet
I like to always have a variety of books checked out of the library, even if I don’t have time to read them all. I often dip in and out of various books, and it’s pleasant just having them around for company. I call this my book buffet.
When You Don’t Feel Happy For a Friend
Sometimes it is hard for me to feel happy for someone else’s simcha, even when intellectually I want to be, and I care about their happiness. What is it? I had a few thoughts:
Alternate Careers
A fun journaling prompt from The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron had me writing a list of five alternate careers. I used the prompt twice, a few months apart, and here is my list in total:
The Voice of Perfection
We all have our struggles that make shidduchim uniquely challenging and painful for each of us. I have struggled mightily with feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy: How do I know that I’m trying hard enough, pushing and stretching myself enough (whatever that means), being open enough (whatever that means)? When I was davening at the Kosel in February, I felt …
NYC Spring
The weather is getting beautiful, the days are longer, and my schedule is opening. I’m excited to get back into taking myself on little day trips. Here are a few places I want to go in NYC:
Things Do Change
I’ve noticed that May tends to be a month of important changes for me (a few dating parshas, my move), and each year as May approaches, I wonder what new development is headed my way. Two friends recently pointed out, separately, that as much as we often feel stuck and as if we are spinning our wheels (in shidduchim …
Commitment
I enjoyed the book Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing, by Pete Davis. The book explores the challenges and benefits of committing to a cause, community, person, or craft for the long haul, in the face of seemingly infinite options. This little episode made me think:
Fun Fact
Before a work luncheon, we each had to submit a fun fact about ourselves for a guessing game. Here’s mine: I cannot drink caffeinated coffee. I start to visibly shake and can’t write or type! I even react to the coffee in coffee yogurt. I know a few other people like this, any of you? (People tell me they are …