Remember those 100 days of happiness I was all about a little while back? I haven’t given up on them. In fact, I’ve been doing a better job than ever at just incorporating happiness into every day without a lot of extra thought.
Why the past 12 hours have been remarkable:
I spent an hour on the elliptical last night at the gym. It was a bummer that I wasn’t running because my ankle (the same one that was booted for inflammation and impingement last winter) has been bothering me again lately as I’ve been increasing my mileage getting ready for my half-marathon in April. But I tried to take it easy on myself, figuring that if I wasn’t dedicated enough to icing it nightly, I could at least be dedicated enough to not overwork it when it was already cranky. Doing that little thing, and getting a good workout in regardless, was the starting point.
I spent last night with a friend. “Friend” is a euphemism. He made a Turkish dinner and we drank French wine and listened to Turkish music. We talked. And, even though it didn’t need to be said, we both agreed that we really appreciate each others’ honesty and openness.
“I know one thing,” he said. “You’ve got a pure heart.” And I was thinking the same thing about him. I don’t know what this “friend” is to me exactly, but I know he’s special. I spent last night feeling exquisitely close to another person – mentally, emotionally and physically – which we all really need more of in our lives.
I headed home in the early hours of the morning, tired but energized. I caught two perfectly-timed buses, one after the other, and made it into and out of the shower before my roommates were up. I put together a great outfit for work. I shaved my legs.
I put in my iPod (Note to self: confused as to why WordPress’ spell-check still hasn’t added “iPod” to its list of recognized words yet.) for my walk to the T. I was rockin’ out to some Arcade Fire when I passed my newest Prospect Street friend.
(Another note: I have another “Prospect Street friend”. He’s a guy I know visually from my gym who was sweet enough to adjust a finicky machine for me each time as we worked our sets around one another’s one night. Now we smile at each other every time we see each other at the gym and every time we pass each other on Prospect Street. I discovered he lives about a block from me when I saw him coming out of his apartment one morning during a snowstorm.)
Now I have another Prospect Street friend. I saw him yesterday on my walk to the T for my current work assignment. It was the first time I’d seen him on a morning commute because of the new time frame. I felt like I had seen him before, and he’s beautiful and tall, which increases the odds I’m remembering correctly; who could forget? We smiled at each other… shyly.
Today, as I was already on Cloud Nine, we smiled broadly and he said hello. Tomorrow I’m debating having a card ready that just says, “Hi. I’m Hannah.” and slipping it to him as we pass.
“I’m a communicator,” I told my friend last night. I love to make connections with people, no matter the circumstances or the intensity. I just always feel great when I’m interacting and getting to know another person.” So, it just feels right to try to start something with the tall, beautiful man who smiles at me on my walk to work. Maybe he’s married. Or maybe he’ll be totally freaked out by my unorthodox approachability. That’s okay. I’m still on Cloud Nine, so I think I’ll take the chance.
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