alone / together
Trout, Fawn, and Pepper1 are coming over tonight to celebrate Fawn's birthday. Originally, I'd thought that F&T were going out to dinner with her family, so Pep and I had made plans to watch a double-feature of Yellowjackets episodes, since we had to rain check last week's drop.
I ran around today and yesterday getting some items together for a relaxed birthday celebration: chocolate cake mix, chocolate and cream cheese frosting (I want to see if we can layer the middle with the cream cheese and make the top chocolate), and all the fixings for mojitos, since Fawn likes them! I think F&T are going to bring stuff over to make spring rolls. Not sure if I have all the ingredients for the peanut sauce, now that I think about it....wuh-oh.
(A pause while I called them to ask if they have sesame oil. They do. Crisis averted.)
I'm beyond happy that I get to celebrate with them, and I've really been enjoying hosting, too. I've had two friends in town in the past two weekends who stopped by and I feel an unexpected sense of pride in my house, especially now that I've had some time to settle in and make each room feel homey. I have a comfy couch for all my friends to relax on, and some couch-side tables I can pull around to make an area for board-gaming and conversation. I have cute plants and mugs that my friends have gifted me, and I've made sure Willow and Algernon have a dozen places where they can supervise or hide, as they see fit.
I wondered, when I moved, if I would feel lonely after all of the time spent with other people, but I've been enjoying my solitude so thoroughly - so voraciously - that a new part of me wonders how I managed without the quiet and time to myself before. I like the quiet. I like waking up and falling asleep when I want, without worrying about my roommates' schedules. I like sitting on the porch on the weekends and drinking cup after cup of tea, with the Moomin (1990) TV series on for background noise. I like letting Wil and Al have free reign of the space all the time, so they can come cuddle on the couch with me whenever they want. These things seem so simple, but wowza, am I learning to appreciate them now that they're possible again. And my weekends are still full of the people I love, so I never truly feel alone.
I feel very grateful that I have a space for my friends. A place where I can host birthdays, and - maybe, some day - dinner and holiday parties! I've always dreamed of having a Summer Solstice picnic in my yard (though it gets hellishly hot here in June). There are so many things to plan; so many possibilities! It's really exciting.
This entry isn't really going anywhere, I guess! But I've been wanting to write more, now that I've settled into my new job and home. Today, I feel full to the brim with happiness. Maybe it's the spring sunlight outside, or the knowledge that I will see several people I adore this evening. I try to treasure that feeling and capture it where I can.
Good luck out there,
Eve
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For reference, if desired: dramatis personae↩