I Feel a Holiday Coming On

I was talking to a friend at a holiday party last weekend and we made plans to get together. We’re going to meet for cocktails one afternoon. On a weekday. When the kids are in school and we should be working. Another friend overheard and said, “Are you kidding? You won’t be able to function for the rest of the day!” To which we replied in unison, “Who Cares!”

Just the thought of it makes me smile. How naughty. How decadent. Really, it doesn’t take much. Maybe we should make a holiday of it: National Blow Off An Afternoon Like You Were Still in College Day. Sounds good, right?

If you’ve already celebrated your own afternoon holiday, do tell. You'll inspire the rest of us!

2008 Was the Year I...

The other night my friend Pat hosted our annual writers’ group holiday meeting. Every year she bakes these awesome coconut and chocolate chip bars, and pops bottles of champagne (okay, Prosecco). I love this night, because I love this group and the women in it — and it’s nice to have an occasion to celebrate it and us.

This year we had a hard time coming up with a theme. In the past, we’ve done work resolutions for the new year, work triumphs and regrets from the past year, and things to be thankful for. Ultimately we decided to honor what we’d done this year by naming an accomplishment.

For me, it was simple: 2008 was the year I became a writer. Ironically, I’ve been a member of writers’ group for nearly seven years, but before The List I hadn’t written a thing. I am an editor, I’d tell everyone, not a writer. And until last year, that was true.

Sometimes I wonder why this great group of women invited me to join in them first place; maybe they saw the writer in me that I never saw. Whatever the reason, I know I wouldn’t be a writer without them.

I felt a real sense at the holiday meeting of needing to appreciate what we have — and what we’ve done — this year. Which I think made us all feel more optimistic about next year. There was a lot of accomplishment floating around that room, and a great spirit that made you feel that all things are possible.

Sometimes you need to do a little accounting to realize how far you’ve come, and how far you could go.

Share your accomplishment of 2008. I’d love to hear about it.

Where Has Peg's Mind Gone?

Okay, my friend Peg has lost her mind. She’s driving her 80-year-old father from New Jersey to Florida right after New Year’s. Just the two of them, in a car, for 48 hours. He was going to drive himself, but Peg couldn’t sleep at night thinking about it, so she decided to ditch her own family to save countless others on I-95. She’s Jan 3 and flying home on the 5th in time to pick up her boys from school.

I laughed when I heard this plan. I told her I thought it would be really interesting . . . if nothing else. And then I said (ha-ha) that I should go with her. The minute it came out, I could feel myself getting giddy. What a concept! I could throw a few things in a bag, hop in the back, and drive 1,300 miles to nowhere, stopping every four hours at a Bob Evans or Cracker Barrel. How reckless and irresponsible to disappear like that!

I actually can’t do it, but I’ll be tempted up until the minute she pulls out of the driveway. Who knows—maybe if this trip works out well, she’ll go again next year, and I’ll get another chance. It wouldn’t be nearly as much fun as doing it now, though. Part of the thrill would be the spontaneity.

So what would you do? Would you say screw it, and just go? If that’s what I end up doing at the eleventh hour, I’ll let you know.

On the Vine with Sue Guerra

Sue Guerra, the Lister who left a career in sales to start a career in wine, has another new gig: she’s blogging for NJMonthly.com. She started around the time of the wine tasting/book signing that she helped organize for The List. (The blog is called On the Vine; check it out). I ran into her a month or so before she started, and she was nervous about writing in such a public forum. Now she’s a pro. Once you’ve taken a big leap, a medium-sized one is nothing.

Getting Out: It Doesn't Cost to Look, Part 2

I need to get out more. Not just figuratively, but literally. A few weeks ago, my friend Peg invited me to see the Lincoln Center production of “Dividing the Estate” because her husband couldn’t go. We had a blast. We got into the city a little too late for a leisurely dinner, but found a great Italian place that served us with cartoon speed. We raced to the theatre two blocks away — stopping at the newsstand for Raisinets and Milk Duds — and watched a very entertaining show.

Afterwards, I started thinking of all the times Peg has called to ask if I want to take the dogs for a hike in the woods, and I’ve said I was too busy working. The truth is, I was too catatonic. You get that way when you stop doing things that are fun and hole up in your home with your day-to-day grind.

I don’t want to be that way, so I have to start doing more. I’m not about to go to the theatre every other month; at $125 a seat I’ll be lucky to go once a year. But shaking up your life doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t even require going into the city or doing something entertaining. Sometimes it just requires getting up, and getting out with a good friend. The next time Pegs calls to ask if I want to hike with the dogs, I’ll say yes.