I’m a writer, so of course I watched the hell out of Dead Poets Society as a teenager. And of course I covet this Yawp T-shirt from Brooklyn Poets and of course I listened, rapt, when Robin Williams said “Carpe… carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.”
For years, though, I thought that in order to carpe my diem, I had to change who I was. I thought I had to throw myself into experiences that made me uncomfortable and and live wildly and throw caution to the wind.
And while there is value to pressing against the boundaries of what scares you (I was thoroughly charmed by Noelle Hancock’s My Year With Eleanor, if you’re interested in reading more about that kind of thing), I very recently realized it was okay to embrace the things that got me excited, even though other people might look at those things and think they were boring.
This year was my very first Mother’s Day. I assume it’s all downhill from here so, when Michael asked me what I wanted to do on my special day, I put a lot of thought into what I should include on my list of demands.
My in-laws invited us to go to a winery with them for a tasting. My brother invited us to a BBQ. And while I do enjoy wine tastings (I’m not even going to pretend I enjoy BBQs), I knew I would feel happiest if it were just me, Michael, and Em.
And that was my first request. Let me lean into my introversion. Let me do the thing that recharges me, rather than the thing that depletes me.
I had a hard time coming up with a plan beyond that but, after some thinking, things fell into place:
1. Have maple bacon doughnuts from Montclair Bread Company with my morning coffee.
2. Take a yoga class.
3. Swing by my mom’s house to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day.
4. Go to Watchung Booksellers and pick up some new paperbacks (Michael treated me to this book haul).
5. Swing by World Market and see if they have anything we can use in our newly redone bedroom.
6. Get takeout shrimp pad thai.
7. Watch a horror movie.
8. Go up to bed so I can read, meditate, and pass out.
These are the things that excite me. These are the things that help me carpe my diem. How’d you carpe your Mother’s Day?
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