First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

How to Turn Off the “I’m Not Enough” Chatter

I’m about to start my usual end of week ritual of trying to electronically and mentally unplug.
(I exempt my iPhone.) On very rare occasions, this ritual coincides with a real moment of accomplishment and I can easily relax in peace. But what’s more typical is a kind of forced letting go, regardless of the goals I’ve achieved (or not) during the last 6 days or whether I’ve lived up to the kind of person I want to be. For the next 24 hours, my tradition tells me, it’s okay. I’ve done enough. And that’s a relief.

Happy weekend everyone. May it be filled with calm, joy and really great food.

Artwork by David Shrigley

Loungewear

For years, when living with a profusely shedding cat, I got used to removing my nice clothes as soon as I walked into the house. I might have set a record for how quickly I could disrobe and get into my sweats. Now my live-in companion is a Bichon-Poodle who never sheds, and still, I can’t wait to peel off into something casual and loose. I’m in awe of women with elegant loungewear. Mine is one step up from scruffy.

Laurette in Green Robe is part of a Matisse exhibit opening at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What is Courage?

Earlier this year, when I was profiled in the Washington Post Magazine, friends told me that I was brave. I was a little baffled by their response. Is it really an act of bravery to admit you’re single in a public forum? My courageous heroes include a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer last October, and went through 8 months of treatment with grace, honesty and love. (She’s cancer free, today.) In the advocacy I do for immigrant rights, I hear stories from hard-working families who live in daily fear of being deported  to countries that are a distant memory, and still move forward with dignity and hope. I draw inspiration from your voices, too. Whose courage lifts you up?

Artwork by Adarsha Benjamin

Do You Like to Dance?

Hands Touching Hands by Lizzie Gill

Things That Are Hard, But We Do Them Anyway

A few of mine:

– Apologize
– Visit friends in the hospital
– Ballet class
– Make potato pancakes for a crowd  (Hanukkah’s coming and I’m envisioning wiping grease from the stove and kitchen floor.)
– Give family members the benefit of the doubt

What’s on YOUR list?

Photo of New York City Ballet dancer by Henry Leutwyler

Here’s to Leftovers

Leftovers get a bad rap. I happen to love them all year round, from day old Chinese food to cold pizza. But particularly after Thanksgiving which is such a frenetic meal, that it’s hard to savor in the moment. The food pleasures deepen for me post holiday when I can eat at a more relaxed pace. The turkey tortilla soup pictured above looks delicious and it’s what I’ll be enjoying over the weekend. Recipe here.

How was your Thanksgiving dinner?

I Love a Parade

Photo by Elliott Erwitt of Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, 1986

Pi Vs Pie

Comic by Grant Snider

Advice to Myself. Leave the Dishes.

Last week, Louise Erdrich won the National Book Award for her novel, The Round House. Here’s a wonderful poem by Erdrich, written in 2003.

Advice to Myself by Louise Erdrich

Leave the dishes. Let the celery rot in the bottom drawer of the refrigerator
and an earthen scum harden on the kitchen floor.
Leave the black crumbs in the bottom of the toaster.
Throw the cracked bowl out and don’t patch the cup.
Don’t patch anything. Don’t mend. Buy safety pins. Continue reading »

Does Thanksgiving Dessert Have to Be a Classic?

When a friend graciously offered to host Thanksgiving dinner this year, I told her I would make a dessert. I was excited to reprise the triple chocolate mousse cake I’d baked last Christmas, which is a fantastic recipe and especially festive. So I was a little surprised when she gently suggested I bring something more traditional, like a pie or apple crisp. Really? My perspective is that chocolate transcends tradition. What do you think? On Thanksgiving, do you prefer the classics?

Image: Hostess, maker of Twinkies, announced today that it was going out of business