Petting the small dogs

[yaoobruni]

What seems like a lifetime ago - but in reality, just 15 years - when I was seriously depressed, I made a rule for myself - I was allowed bad days and bad weeks, but never bad months. I decided it was okay to write off the whole week if the first three days had been terrible, but that I wasn't allowed to write off months ten days into them. Things

Comments

[kassrachel]

But eventually you learn to pet the small dogs and even discover some of their charms.

It's the only way to survive, I think. (It's largely how I made it through that week in Sicily...) And the image of you befriending the huge Belgian by cadging a stewardess seat for a while is wonderful.

the idea that I'm home - more or less for two months - at the end of this trip fills me with something close to bliss.

:-) :-) :-)

[ellinor]

Somehow you manage to make even the most annoying of annoyances and most disappointing of dissapointments sound manageable. Thanks, as always, for sharing with us, and I smile with vicarious bliss at your return home.
love-

[sanj]

Your continued grace under pressure really astounds me. And I, too, look forward on your behalf to your return home.

*love*

[minyan]

Yeah. Wish you some real rest.
Take care and get home safe.

[esqgirl]

"it's less about giving up on the days you're "sacrificing" and more about deciding to put a stop to bad spells in your life." something to ponder when the temperature breaks and my brain starts working again.

In the meantime, to completely glob onto your entry:

What one or two things should I do in Chicago next week, free after 5pm each night, to help make it memorable/rejuvenative?

Will you connect me to your friend/colleague/2nd wife, so that we may introduce ourselves before entering her lovely city, and perhaps make plans to meet her and her husband for lunch?

To Monday!
love,
esq.

[yaoobruni]

My most memorable experiences of Chicago involved arriving in the city without my suitcase and suffering through a winter week without a good sweater or coat. I don't recommend that.

But Chicago's a great evening town. There are countless blues bars, many of them worth encountering. If Wrigley is hosting one of the rare night games, it's a must-visit, as the ballpark is a literal temple of baseball. The food is amazing - Wire Monkey Mother probably has better specifics than I would...

And yes, I'll put you in touch with wife #2, who should be almost over her food poisoning by now...