The end of the month looms, and the goddess of blog inspiration is late. 

My brain is full of thoughts. But they’re mostly spreadsheets and strategy, and the day I turn this into a finance blog I will have lost my underlying motive in doing it at all.

Maybe I should be concerned that my life (and consequently, my brain) is filled with mostly work. But I like my work, and I don’t know of anything I’d enjoy filling my life with more.

But tonight, for the sake of the spirit of the blog, I will tell you about two specific non-work related events that took place in October, which I enjoyed living and enjoy remembering.

–

I spent four nights in a precious AirBnB in Georgia, two of them entirely alone. It was the first time in over three years that I slept in a room by myself. This is not something I long for, but it wasn’t something I hated either.

The AirBnB had vintage farmhouse vibes. Black and white gingham curtains on the tall windows in my room. Patterned china plates on the wall above the bed. It’s not a style I aspire to ever incorporate in my own home, but it was a pleasant space to spend some time.

While I was there, I made myself a bedtime routine. It consisted of sitting in bed with a sandwich on a china plate, a can of Sanpellegrino, and an episode of The Summer I Turned Pretty on the screen in the corner.

It was extraordinarily chill.

No one talked to me the whole time I was doing it.

(Do I like The Summer I Turned Pretty? Meh. There are specific moments that work well. It’s easy to watch when I don’t want to engage too much of my brain. But I haven’t watched it since I came home, even though I still haven’t finished the third season. Signs indicate it doesn’t have a strong chokehold on me.)

Full disclosure: the trip was work-related. But those nighttime moments in that high four-poster bed weren’t. I enjoyed it so much that I have thought of it many times since. 

–

We don’t habitually say grace before we eat in our house. 

(Our ancestors would be ashamed.)

One evening this month as we were sitting at our family dinner table, the child suddenly reached out her hands to both of us and said “Let’s amen! Let’s bless the hands!”

“Okay,” said I, taking her hand. “Bless this food and bless the hands that have prepared it.”

“No!” she said. “We have to close our eyes!”

“Okay,” said I, again. And we closed our eyes and blessed the food and the hands, because our daughter requested it. 

(Our ancestors would be proud.)

Afterwards, she opened her eyes and said, “Like Sheldon and Missy!” 

Which means she was acting out something she’s seen on a TV show.

(Our ancestors would be ashamed.)

–

And so, life continues. Some meaningful moments stitched together by thousands of routine ones that fade before the day is done but still make up the floor of my reality.

It’s a good floor.