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Archive of ‘Life Without A Manual’ category

Coffee and Friends

I work from home, so water cooler talk or stories in the office kitchen are not part of the culture. I miss the chit-chat about what we did last night, how was vacation, and what the kids have been up to lately. Now, it’s just me and my Keurig, and it isn’t much of a talker.

So, if I were sitting in a cafe with you, I’d love to hear what’s happening in your world. How is the family? What are you reading now? How’s work? Where are you going on vacation this summer?

And maybe I’d ask you a personal question or two, like How are you doing? What’s on your mind? How can I help? And perhaps you would ask me the same questions in return. Here is how I would answer you.

How am I doing? Not too bad, actually. Although I’m feeling my age a little because I haven’t exercised in a while. Scott and I went for a walk in the park a couple of weekends ago, and it wore me out. There were a bunch of hills in that park, and I need to get back in shape. I also need new sneakers.

What’s on my mind? My book. I’m thinking of going in a different direction. I still want to raise awareness about Parkinson’s Disease, but as I look at my life, there are other things I want to write about. Like how my relationships and friendships have changed as I get older. And how I’m parenting my adult children and trying not to parent my parents. I might want to write about the challenges I’ve faced and the lessons I learned. I’ve lived long enough now to put it down on paper. And even if it doesn’t ever get published, it will be something my family will have as a keepsake – and I will still be known to future generations.

How can you help? Maybe we can make more of an effort to go out for coffee or dinner. I miss my friends, and now that we have a little more time on our hands, we should get together more often and not take our friendship for granted. I love spending time with you and always feel better when we talk. Let’s make that happen soon.

What do you think?

XO,

Elisa

Visit Your Indie Bookstore

Friends! This Saturday is one of my favorite days of the whole year. It’s a day where I get to go to one of my favorite places and impulse buy to my heart’s content.

Or until I run out of cash…

It’s Independent Bookstore Day!

If you have read any of my monthly book blogs, you might remember me encouraging you to support your local indie bookstore. And if you haven’t done it yet, here’s your big chance!

Why do I love shopping at independent bookstores? First, the staff is knowledgeable and friendly. They are book nerds just like you and me who decided to open up their own brick-and-mortar store chock full of stories. The bookstore owners and staff are the perfect people to help you pick out your next 5-star read. And the customers – who are otherwise complete strangers to you – are exchanging book recommendations left and right. It’s like an AWESOME book club meeting for the public. The coffee and book talk is free-flowing, and these small literary businesses feel supported by their neighbors. There is a kind of magic here that you won’t find in a Barnes and Noble, a Costco, or an Amazon website. From author meet and greets to curated bookshelves with plots set in your neck of the woods, readers of all ages will find something to read (and hopefully purchase) in their indie bookstore.

And If you aren’t in the market for a new book, that’s okay. They sell more than books. Buy a bookmark, a pair of cute reading glasses, some fuzzy socks, a jigsaw puzzle, a fancy notebook, or a gift card for another book lover.

So hold on to your TBR piles! Whatever your plans are this weekend, please stop by and check out your indie bookstore and report back. You will be glad you did!

XO,
Elisa

 

Wishful Thinking

Back on April 1st, I promised you 30 blog posts in 30 days. I knew I had a business trip planned, but I thought I’d be able to write some things ahead of time and line them up to publish while I was away.

Wishful thinking… who was I kidding? I had so much work to do to prepare for this trip that I didn’t even start packing until the night before. See my last blog post for details.

When that didn’t work out, I thought – okay, I’m bringing a laptop on this trip. I’m sure I’ll have some spare time to write a few quick posts at the end of each day.

Wishful thinking… who was I kidding? I was so tired when I returned to my hotel room that I only had the energy to get changed, brush my teeth, and go to sleep.

So, when that didn’t work out, I knew I had a three-hour wait for my flight from Chicago to Philly, and I thought I could quickly crank out one or two posts and start to catch up on the week of blog posts I lost.

Again, wishful thinking…who was I kidding? My flight was delayed, and I hung out at the airport with some of the wonderful people from my trip instead. Thankfully, we made the best of it. We talked about our trip, checked our airline apps, shared our frustrations and horror stories about air travel, and considered renting a car and driving 12 hours to Philly. At one point, we all walked over to try and intimidate the lovely people at the customer service desk to see if we could get on any plane to Philly. We thought the “Philly Six” (which is what we nicknamed ourselves) could find a plane for us — or at least buy us a round of drinks for our troubles. I was also busy calculating the time change plus the travel time from the Philly airport to my house, texting my family, and hoping I’d see them soon and sleep in my own bed.

On the flight home, I thought about blogging later today. I had the day off and thought I would definitely have time to put some thoughts down on paper.

You guessed it. Wishful thinking… who was I kidding? I slept in until 9 am, checked my email, posted some photos from the weekend on our social media platforms, did laundry, camped out in front of the tv, and napped on and off all day long. Actually, I must have dreamt about doing laundry because I see that all of my dirty clothes never made it out of the sorting baskets on my bedroom floor. I guess that means I’ll be wearing PJ bottoms and a cute top to work tomorrow. Good thing I work from home. No one in my Zoom meetings will ever know (unless, of course, you rat me out 🙂 )

As you can tell, I’m still a little punchy from my six-day road trip and three-hour wait at the airport, which turned into a four-hour delay yesterday. What is it about me flying through Chicago?? I always get stuck there. One of my favorite bloggers is sharing her travel nightmare stories this month, and I’m pretty sure if I shared all of mine, they would always begin with a flight through Chicago.

Okay, I need one more good night’s sleep, and then I’ll write more exciting blog posts to finish the month.

Wishful thinking? I hope not!

Anyway – I missed you all, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

XO,
Elisa

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