Lingering in Simplicity
Daily Delight — February 17, 2023
It’s Friday night and I’m meeting a friend for dinner. I don’t get out much, so it’s particularly exciting. I drop our toddler with her Mom, swinging by my wife’s work. I leave the two of them, departing solo for the first time in weeks. I get in my car and turn up the music a few notches.
The drive to and from is stunning, sunlight falling over sprawling fields, cut and barren waiting for spring planting. Even the piles of manure and the naked trees shivering in the gusty air look picturesque, idyllic, like they walked right out of a landscape painting.
It’s nice to drive alone, without my sidekick. I spend so much time with her, it feels odd, like I forgot my pants, and I’m walking around trying to blow it off as completely normal.
I get to the Thai restaurant early. I have been thinking about a Thai iced tea since we made these plans weeks ago, and when the waitress drops by, this is my request. A sweet forbidden treat for me, but tonight I indulge.
I settle in with my book. I finally chose something to read. I couldn’t commit to what book for the longest time. I love reading novels, but this time chose a book of short stories: Prize Stories, The O’Henry Awards 1997.
