February 1, 2021
Longtime readers of the blog will know that I am a huge This American Life fan.
Don’t worry, I’m not delusional: I don’t pretend to have an imaginary fanbase of longtime readers. I just love when podcast hosts say things like: “Longtime listeners of the show will know that our producer so-and-so has eleven dogs,” and I wanted to say it this one time. Let a girl daydream, ok?
Anyway, for the first week of 2021, This American Life re-ran an episode called “The Show of Delights.” Here, I was introduced to Ross Gay’s Book of Delights, a collection of essays about -you guessed it- delight. For one year, every day Gay wrote down things that delighted him. One time, it was carrying a tomato seedling through airport security and onto a plane, and the unusual, hilarious, delightful interactions that ensued.
Listening to this (and later, his book), I was inspired to give it a try myself. It wasn’t going to be beautifully-written, thought-provoking essayettes like his, but I would still write down something that delighted me each day.
Let me remind you, as if you don’t already know far too well: January 2021 was a crazy news month, and in many ways, a continuation of the difficult times that it has been for some time. But one could argue, what better time is there than now to actively look for delightful moments in life? I thought of it kind of like how I try to force a habit of gratitude when I’m feeling most ungrateful.
So I did indeed start a practice of writing down the little moments of delight every day.
And I thought to share some of my daily delights of the past month. Note: I skipped some days (even Ross Gay himself had skipped days, okay?), and some delights didn’t make it on here. I decided that they have themselves a better home in my journal than on a blog post.
With that, here goes:
4 January
Starting a new book and just knowing that I’ll get right into it.
5 January
A catch-up call with a friend, talking about nothing (Netflix shows) and the hard things (life).
9 January
The pain and sweat from a good workout session.
10 January
Trying out a new recipe and enjoying a satisfying first bite. Bonus is in knowing that I will have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Who knew I could cook cauliflower so nicely at home?
The luxury in life that is falling asleep on the couch while reading a book on a Sunday afternoon.
11 January
Rediscovering and learning to re-love a song. Right now that’s Bonfire Heart by James Blunt, which is random and strange because I don’t have a person or a place or a particular significance attached to this song. But I heard it from a Spotify playlist on New Year’s, and ever since, I’ve been playing it on repeat. I would be surprised if this song doesn’t make it onto my top played song list of 2021.
13 January
Learning from the birds: A Short Philosophy of Birds 🦜
14 January
A cup of this beautiful floral tea that mama sent me. I’m not often an herbal tea drinker, but this tea’s got a real soothing, lovely flavour. I only know it by its Korean name, gookhwacha, with gookhwa being a type of flower. (Chrysanthemum, according to Google and Wikipedia.)
15 January
That first sip of coffee before opening the work laptop in the morning.
16 January
A savoury waffle for breakfast on a Saturday morning, though most days I’m a sweet waffles kinda girl. In this time when going out for brunch on a weekend seems as wild of a thought as going on a world tour, we thank Patisserie Lebeau for its frozen waffles! Today’s lazy person’s savoury waffle was made with: Brussels waffle, a layer of butter, over easy eggs, two slices of turkey ham, a zigzag of sriracha, and a generous dose of maple syrup. Pickled olives on the side.
Getting sushi delivered to my door. It’s a delight that I’ve come to associate with a weekend night’s treat during pandemic times. But unlike today, most times I walk over to order and pick up in person. The sushi place is conveniently located next to a cute little wine shop, with a rotating repertoire of cheesy wine jokes on a chalkboard at its storefront. Delight. While waiting for my sushi order, I leisurely browse through the wine selection, only to walk away with one of the same $15.99 bottles I always get.
The regular visits to this definitely-not-Japanese-run sushi place takes me back to the very first paid job I had, at the age of 18, at another definitely-not-Japanese-run sushi place. The chefs there made me such extravagant (and probably extremely high calorie) meals during my shifts that I was positively chubbier by the time I left the job. Judge all you want, but I will always defend my love for the fatty North American sushi that is so abundantly, delightfully, available in this city.
20 January
21 January
A walk to the beach. And the fact that it’s not pitch black outside at 5pm anymore.
23 January
Watching mushrooms shrink and turn golden brown in a sizzling pan.
28 January
Walking by the school field and watching little humans practice soccer (?) with two teachers running around with them.
Prosecco 🥂
Wrapping up the day with gratitude, and taking in the love I’m surrounded with.
29 January
An elderly couple crossing the street together, holding hands, looking happy and not even a little bit rushed.
The ending of Circe by Madeline Miller.
30 January
So much cheese and cake and eccentric songs and funny stories all in one day.
And there you have it, my January delights. I think I’ll keep this up, and maybe even continue to share them here periodically.
What are your daily delights? We count and cherish the little wins. 🌙
“It didn’t take me long to learn that the discipline or practice of writing these essays occasioned a kind of delight radar. Or maybe it was more like the development of a delight muscle. Something that implies that the more you study delight, the more delight there is to study.”
Ross Gay –Book of Delights
