Breaking In Spring

I have a lot of things to be excited about today. It's the first day of spring break, for starters, and despite the rainy, 40 degree weather, in my mind it's sunny and in the 70s. I launched Spring Break by attending a champagne tasting last night with a fellow refugee from NYC, and we got happily drunk, criticized the fashion sense of Bostonians and the orange-pantalooned Frenchman who gave us a talk about sparkling red wines, and got temporary wine tattoos which made me feel surprisingly sexy. I'll be heading to New York for vacation in a few days, and have lots of exciting plans like shopping, going to the Bronx Zoo, visiting my Wise Woman (isn't that part of everyone's vacation plans?), and of course catching up with friends.

I also received a gigantic box in the mail this morning containing my spring wardrobe from my friend Style Mummy. She's a fashionista who is a few years my senior and owns a trendy boutique in Park Slope, and since we happen to be the same exact size, she gives me her copious hand-me-downs (including shoes & the occasional bra). I know not everyone is as excited about clothes as I am, so I won't go into the details, but I'll just say that I'm super excited about the contents, especially a few Velvet items and a Diane von Furstenburg skirt. She's now been outfitting me for five and a half years!

Another source of excitement is the Brazilian's imminent return from Italy tomorrow, as long as Icelandic ash doesn't deter his travel plans. Of course, this also means a renewal of my anxiety. He was in Italy receiving an award for which he has to create a project, and before his trip he was busy day and night working on its design, so I haven't seen him in a while or heard from him since he's been gone. At one point I wondered about his silence and asked him to let me know if he didn't feel excited about seeing me again, and he assured me that he is still very excited, but also sleep-deprived and overworked. This will probably still be the case after he gets back, and I hope he doesn't tarry too long in getting in touch, not just because I'm anxious to get my hands on the bottle of grappa he promised to bring back for me. The “Red Flags” section next to his name on my Man List remains empty, and the “Questions” category has just two entries: Might be too busy and Not sure if he wants children (though Pro #12 is Seems to like kids, which I added after noticing him smile and wink at toddlers while we were having breakfast at a coffee shop a couple of weeks ago). He told me I was welcome to come to Italy with him; thank goodness spring break didn't coincide with his trip or I would have been seriously tempted. This afternoon I was discussing my situation with my sister, Ms. Swamp, as she scrubbed her toaster oven, and she recommended, “You should tell him you really like him and see how he responds.” “Oh, I told him that already on our third date,” I said. “Was I not supposed to say it so soon?” (He responded well.)

I'm also excited about the paycheck I received last week; I never asked how much my pay in Cambridge would be because I wanted it to be a surprise, and it turned out to be quite a pleasant one. I'll still need to figure out what I am doing over the summer and next year, but for the next couple of months at least I'll be quite comfortable (much more so than I was as a NYC public school teacher). And the best thing is I'm working exactly 40 hours a week and rarely have to spend a single moment thinking about my jobs when I'm not at them, let alone work until 10 pm and then dream about work as I did last year. The resources available in Cambridge amaze me on a daily basis; feels like the Paradise of Public Schools.

And finally, I'm excited because Monday is Marathon Monday in Boston, and since I moved shortly after Marathon Sunday in NY, I get two marathons this year. I have absolutely no interest in running myself, but watching other people run is very satisfying. Hopefully by then the rain will stop and the temperature will rise to match my mood.