1) Twenty years ago this month I started working at the Ballet Company. I was going to write a lengthier post about that anniversary, but I’m not. My four years at the Company are a jewel with darker facets as well as brilliant ones; for my story to make sense, both sides need to be seen, and I’m not ready. Let’s just say that I learned just how much i could stand, made many mistakes, witnessed some magnificent and moving performances, hosted some wonderful parties, and met some incredible people, several of whom I continue to cherish all these years later. Tough as it was some days, I’ve never regretted my time there, and I continue to rejoice in the Company’s success all these years later.
1a) “And to think what I’ve sacrificed for Howard Fowler!” “Such as what, Mrs. Fowler” “I GAVE HIM MY YOUTH!”
2) Luncheon at the Marliave today with two friends up from Our Nation’s Capital who I had not seen for many months. Sparkling rosé, scallops and pumpkin gnocchi for me, virtuous pre-Thanksgiving salads with chicken for them.
2a) Afterward, browsing through ye Mycye’s, I bought a plaid shirt for myself because it reminded me of Mother, and of a scarf she gave me one Christmas ages ago: white and black plaid, with a line of red. It was a beautiful scarf she’d bought at the church craft fair, and she loved it and loved giving it to me. So of course I felt terrible when I eventually lost it.
3) Leaving the Marliave, I started reflecting on the Day Before Thanksgiving and what that’s been like in my office life. The halls already thinned by colleagues taking vacation all week, the late morning email confirming suspicions that the office really would close at 3 PM, possibly a basket of goodies on Temptation Island, and sometimes the preference to stay later to finish up a project and just enjoy Rare Office Solitude before catching the bus home. I love the feeling of anticipation in the air - less pronounced than Christmas, but there - but this year I’m also thankful that I can enjoy that anticipation outside an office. This really has been a year of change, and it continues to be.