Anymore, would stretch the rhyme...

"Maybe learning how to be out in the big world isn't the epic journey everyone thinks it is. Maybe that's actually the easy part. The hard part is what's right in front of you. The hard part is learning how to hold the title to your very existence, to own not only property, but also your life.” 

- Meghan Daum - Life Would be Perfect if I Lived in That House

Lately I've had a lot of thoughts swirling around my head; I've been crafting all sorts of fabulous posts up in my brain.  These never actually get written posts range from quick updates on what I've been doing with this fabulous summer and how I've been filling my days to all sorts of deep, philosophical thoughts about life, love, hard work, hard play, and all the juicy stuff that falls in between.

Mostly though, particularly as I leave my apartment in the morning and stroll up to the T to make my way into the office for another day or I wake up on a quiet weekend morning and sip a cup of coffee on my cozy little porch, I find myself ruminating on the same thought, one that has been running on a loop in my mind as of late - and that's just how damn lucky and fortunate these days, this 2013 year has been to me thus far.  And really, how blissfully content I feel in this little corner of the universe that's been carved out as my own.

I've buried the lead with this news a few times in my very infrequent posts (Shall we all just agree that in the summer we should all be spending less time in front of our computer screens and more time soaking up sunshine, thus the steep decline in blogging) over the past few months, but when I returned from Australia at the end of June I started a new position within my company.  This new gig is not to be confused with the one I - blink and you'll miss it! - started last October but yet another opportunity, one that, while the learning curve is steep and I'm busy from the minute I set foot in the office in the morning to the moment when I finally turn off my desk lamp in the evening, is one that I am beyond thrilled about.  Maybe I won't always feel this way, maybe one day I'll grow weary of the ins and outs of what this position entails, maybe one day I'll read back over this post and think, "how could you ever feel that way about that job?" But that's no matter. Because right now, my dear readers, I am loving it.  Even when I want to tear my hair out dealing with an issue or 700, I still love it.  Or, to put it another way, this is basically the job that, when I moved back from New York City at the tail end of 2006, I learned about and thought to myself "you know, self.  One day I want to do that."     

Look at that, self.  Here we are.

And of course, it's summertime, a season that always puts me in a good mood, mostly because it is the best time.  Windows are left open or rolled down and the daylight lingers until almost 9pm.  We've got fresh fruit and vegetables to eat, ice cream cones to lick, a cold beer at the end of a long week to linger over with a friend or two.  It's when the world seems to slow down and catch it's breath for just a second, when everyone would rather be outside than just about anywhere else. 

And yet there's something else too.  It's something I can't quite put my finger on, something I'm proud just to be even slightly aware of, to have the ability to take a moment to notice when good fortune has smiled upon me.  While I know I will always have my ups and downs just like anyone else, and bad moods will creep in and sour my mood because I'm only human, I believe the silver lining is simpy that I haven't been too busy or too distracted to know contentment when it finds me.  I hope it doesn't sound too sappy to tell you that these days, these months, this year, I've simply felt fulfilled, gratified, and so very lucky.   

Last week I went to a Red Sox game with my friend, Kate.  The game lasted for ages - it literally started in July and ended in August after a 15 inning run.  I'm not too proud to tell you that my friend and I only lasted until the end of the 10th; it was a school night after all.  She and I parted ways outside of the ballpark, she headed toward her car and I decided I'd walk home rather than deal with the crowds on a late night subway train.  Now, the easiest way to walk to where I live is to cut along part of my alma mater's campus, which eventually leads you to the BU bridge.  Of course, whenever I take this walk I can't help but reflect back on my college years, of the girl I was at 18, 19, 20, and 21.  The one who walked up and down the same exact city sidewalk, day in and day out, with no idea what the future - what my future - would look like.

Sometimes I think about the fact that I still have no idea what the future - again, what my future - holds.  But the difference is now that doesn't seem to bother me nearly as much as it did some 12+ years ago.  Which is maybe, in some strange way, what growing up is all about anyway.


“Now and then it's good to pause in our pursuit of happiness and just be happy.”

- Guillaume Apollinaire -