Hold on to These Moments As They Pass

Do you remember that Counting Crows song “A Long December?”

The song is pretty horrible, but there is one great line: I can’t remember all the times I tried to tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass.

In February, my friends (also known as the greatest people in the world) took me to Puerto Rico for a surprise 30th birthday trip. As I jumped through the waves, that lyric hit me. This was a perfect moment, and I wanted to hold onto it, bask in it and never let it go. I think I actually started tearing up, realizing what a perfect moment it was. Sure enough, it’s 9 months later and our lives have all changed a lot: one of us has moved to Geneva, one’s contemplating a move to Colorado, one’s pregnant, one moved in with her boyfriend and one (me!) started a new job.

The stress of most of this year has made the good stuff recently so much sweeter, and I’ve had a number of those moments lately, too.

Friday night, I hopped on the Path to Jersey City to meet Dori and take advantage of a ridiculous promo going on at Target. They were buying back any old iPad for $200. I had a first-generation one that felt as heavy as my laptop and was going to ask for a Mini for Christmas, but this deal was too good to pass up. When they gave me the gift card for the trade-in, “Value: $65” popped up on the screen before the associate did the override. SWEET. I love my little Mini. Now to get it a cute case…

Yesterday, I had my Junior League run club. We did a nice, easy, chatty four miles in the park and then went to the Central Park Boathouse for brunch.

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We sat by the windows overlooking the water, and someone remarked what a beautiful, perfect day it was. I got the warm fuzzies as I thought about how tourists flock to New York for views like that, and how lucky I was that that was just part of my regular Saturday with friends.

My job is awesome on 17 million levels, but one part of the awesomeness is that my buddy Emily works in the same building. When she stopped downstairs on Friday with this little muffin, she told me she was going to brunch with Leticia and asked if I wanted to come. I

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‘m trying really hard to not overschedule myself, so I originally said no, but hopped up on coffee, a mimosa and endorphins after brunch yesterday, I texted her that I wanted to crash brunch.

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We went to The Smith, where I got prosecco and potato chips, because they obviously go together. We sat and laughed and laughed and laughed, and I even ran into another friend there. I got back on the subway, smiling.

I snuggled with Bailey for a while, before heading out for a quick blowout before heading to Fall Fete, a Junior League event we host yearly to raise funds to benefit our Playground Improvement Project.

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I still really need to learn how to use a curling iron or straightener so I can do this myself. I got my dress from Rent the Runway, and I do not want to send it back.

And now I’m heading out for a bike ride with Jen before getting some work done this afternoon.

I’m savoring every moment.

14 comments on “Hold on to These Moments As They Pass

  1. Dori

    1 – You just caused outrage in the Gray household by saying A Long December is horrible. IT HAS WITHSTOOD THE TEST OF TIME. 2 – I ended up going back to Target and getting a case there after I did research on the best cases. 3 – YES $100 iPAD MINI FTW. 4 – Your blowout looks awesome and you look gorgeous. 5 – ALWAYS BRUNCH. 6 – PUPPY AT WORK OMG

    Reply
  2. Allie

    Prosecco and potato chips are such a winning combo! It’s funny, I just got an email from Astor Center saying they were hosting a champagne + potato chip pairing class. You must be on to something 😉

    Reply
  3. Melinda

    NYC is like crack for me! My daughter and I often remark how great it must be to just hang out in NYC as part of an everyday life. Glad to know New Yorkers feel the same way!

    I’m new here – love your blog – thank you!

    Reply
  4. Jen

    Wait, there was a puppy in the workplace? BRB quitting my job to do whatever that job is. One of my lawyer friends said that law firms would be much happier places if free range puppies were introduced. I concur.

    Reply
    1. Theodora Post author

      YES. Someone we work with volunteers with the Bully Project and brought in that little guy to try to find him a home!

      Reply
      1. Gianna @ Run, Lift, Repeat

        @Theodora:

        How would anyone resist that face!! I concur with Jen – I think it would calm a few tempers on the News Room floor here to have some pups around 🙂
        I have tried to enact “bring your dog to work day” so I can play with all the dogs I cannot have, but sadly it has not caught on.

        Reply
  5. Annie @ lovelaughrun.com

    It’s such a good reminder to savor the moments – I had a similar moment on Saturday in the Park. Thanks for sharing!

    Also, I went to the Juice Press run on Saturday (at 92nd & Madison) and it was great! I overheard the leaders talking about how a celebrity, aka you, joined last week 🙂

    Reply
  6. Cathryn

    I feel the same way about two things in particular. One is parenting – my baby is four next week and I don’t know where those four years went, so I try to cherish every single moment. The other is living here in the Bay Area. We don’t know how long this wonderful period will last so again I try to pack our time here full of stuff and also to stop and appreciate everything we love about it!!!

    So glad you sound so happy at the moment!

    Reply

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