Heather:
I finished designing a new house for clients and finally got paid for my work 3 weeks prior. That was nice.
Laura Liz:
There are a lot of transitions going on for me these days and I haven't done great at keeping up with basic self-care stuff, including keeping my space organized. I have a friend who, as a side business, helps people clean / organize their space, let go of extra stuff / clutter, etc. I hired him for a couple hours and have been running around organizing my clutter all week in anticipation of him coming this morning. Before he arrived, in spite of all I'd done over the week I was still feeling like my apartment was embarrassing. This friend is someone who understands the type of rough time (the stuck-ness) that I've been trying to work my way out of. He is empathetic, non-judgemental, and a wonderful listener. He fully understands how de-cluttering one's living space can translate to a de-cluttering of the mind and spirit. And he was willing to de-spider my patio (I've been afraid to go out there!). I ended up doing most of the organization while he was there (because mainly I just need to sort academic papers/materials into resource binders for my future job, something he wouldn't be able to help with) and I'm certainly not finished, but his encouragement and presence there was more helpful than I can articulate. The rest of the job no longer feels insurmountable. And it was just a happy thing to see an old friend!
Charles:
Well...starting
from the obvious, that I love everything about photography...and it pretty much
always makes me happy:
A shoot
I did on Tuesday was super-lovely (I'd seen this email on Wednesday, so I'm applying the
"last 24 hours" to Tuesday :-) .
What
made me so happy about it? The shoot was for a gal who, at 64, overcame certain
fears to make a CD of standards (Tony Bennett, etc.) that she'd wanted to make
for some time. It was a joyful shoot. Her moment...hair and make-up...the whole
nine yards.
It
was so nice to be entrusted with shooting her for the CD cover. Yes,
indeed...made me very happy.
I
am in love with everyone who is leading/trying to lead a creative life while
attending to all of life's necessities.
Lori:
Yesterday evening found me on the deck of a house on Lopez Island, Washington that I have been visiting for almost 30 years. It overlooks a beautiful little bay, and while I sat there talking to my best friend from high school, we both noticed, not one, not two, not three, but four sea otters frolicking and swimming from one side of the inlet to the other. One of them crawled up onto a small stump sticking up out of the water and dove off for his friends to see. They dove and swam and clucked at each other, and right when we lost sight of them, an adolescent bald eagle soared over our heads. And that was that.
Dan:
My panama hat.
I spent $100 on a hat that I love and rarely use. The brim is
large with a brown band and it's crown is crisp and defined.
With summer weather comes sweat, which has ruined many a hat.
I'm a hat man, have been for a long time since I was told by the medical
profession I can't be in the sun - BUT I love the sun, hence my cemetery of
overly loved hats -hat's sweat stained and at a loss of any kind of form.
This morning, before bicycling to work along the ocean boardwalk
- I tied a red bandanna around my neck - put on my favorite shorts and with
much fanfare - removed my favorite hat from it's box under the bed and I wore
it all day.
I was delighted that I was able act upon a whim.
Tonight I'm smiling - because my hat sits on the guest bedroom bed - ready to
be worn again - not waiting for a special occasion - because today is special
enough.
John:
Yesterday evening, as a VERY hot day was coming to an end and a spectacular sunset was filling the west with pink and orange light, I was in our front yard watering our new rose bushes, which are preparing to open a second round of pink and orange blossoms. There was a light breeze, and I could smell the soil as it soaked up the water. Our neighbor and her good friend ran outside with their cell phones to snap pictures of the sunset. They both had mud masks on, and they were laughing.
Holly:
today i woke up in my sweetie's arms (we don't live together, so it's a treat)... i'd been having a nightmare and i was yelling "no, no, no!" i had been unsuccessfully trying to make the dream stop. she hugged me and calmed me, and as i fell back to sleep, i decided to mentally invite her and her two big beautiful fiercely protective dogs into my dream with me. the bad guys and gals did not stand a chance!
Phoebe:
I attended an excellent yoga class at Yoga to the People last night. It was super hot and humid, and felt like vinyasa in a bikram room.
I may have found my next "career" yesterday while surfing the web. I stumbled upon an offer for free schooling in a field that I have felt drawn to my entire life, but I never thought it could be a reality. If I do go down this path, it that would allow me to work from anywhere, and I think I may actually love this work. Sorry for the secrecy, I need to do a bit more research before I can talk about it for real. But the idea of it has made me very happy this past 24 hours.
Liz:
sweating my gazongees off at boxing Monday night made me happy
Steve:
There are so many things making me happy these days. Several in the last 24 hours: dinner with our great neighbors, and the little vase of flowers that they gave us (a beautiful combination of coral/peach, blue, purple, faded pink, yellow, all in a few square inches).
And tonight the sweet, heavily tattooed waiter at our favorite Italian restaurant congratulated us on our upcoming wedding by saying that it's "f-ing rad".
Tanya:
I am so….happy that my longtime friend Steve (who we all know and love) and his fiancĂ© John (yay for them!!) spent the evening with us in Los Angeles last night! How wonderful to enjoy rich flowing conversation poolside, dine on Limoncello marinated shrimp, garlic grilled veggies, and quinoa pesto pasta followed by a summer fruit crostada. How wonderful to have friends for so long and still feel the deep connection. Steve and I were born nineteen days apart in the same year, attended the same dreary university where a creative writing class along with my brown velvet cape sparked our friendship which was sealed over roasted grapefruits and tea on a rainy Syracuse day at Phoebe's Cafe, left for the New School/Parsons at the same time without realizing it, continued our friendship in New York, shared a cartilage piercing, remained friends through long distance letters and then lost touch. Thanks to the internet and social media we have been reconnected for several years and my heart is full. Both of us are leading parallel lives of sorts as we have followed our passion and summoned our courage to go back to school and begin again in midlife in very similar career paths combining creativity, therapy, spirituality and more. I am inspired by Steve; by his heart and his deep listening, his 27 years of loving the same man who he finally gets to marry legally, his kindness, his quirkiness, his integrity, his creative soul. I am happy to call Steve my friend and to know we are journeying this life together!
Richard:
All in 24 hours…..
Romance rocks.
Watching my 90 year old mother writing checks to pay her bills.
Discipline rocks.
In the playground next to my home, the older boys taught the younger ones how to shoot a hoop.
Compassion rocks.
Lori F:
I am happy that today is the last day of school for my boys. No more homework, packing lunches or strictly enforced bedtimes. Viva summer!
Dave W:
This photo.
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