Sundays in My City – Small Things in Life

I sometimes wonder whether this whole brouhaha over “small things in life” is not a conspiracy started by people who did not have an exciting life to begin with.

Oh… *Rubbing hands together* Let’s make them believe that the small things in life are far more grand than the BIG things. This way they would not pity us for the lack of excitement in our mundane existence, and instead, they would be jealous of our ability to cultivate an appreciation for the mundane, the boring. The City Mouse will envy the Country Mouse. The urbanites with their late-night parties and cultural affairs and social engagements will put back their sneers towards the suburbanites.  The sophisticates will look at their ennui and wish they have our kind of boring life instead.  Excellent.

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To be honest, being a working parent, BORING WEEKENDS are what I look forward to…  I have worked my ass off during the week, what do you mean I am in charge of entertaining the kids on the weekends? So yeah, is there a conspiracy? You be the judge…

Nothing happened on this long Labor Day weekend. We live in the burbs and we don’t have cable and I did not find time to read the newspapers and I was kind of banned from my laptop (aka the Internet aka Twitter) so it is as if the world has stopped existing.

The most exciting thing that’s happened around here has been the opening of a new grocery store. I am not kidding. More than three people told me, on separate occasions, “Have you checked out _____ Market?” They made it sound as if this new store were the Second Coming (in both senses). So we checked it out.

OMG freshly made pizza! OMG sandwiches made from high quality meats and cheeses! OMG freshly squeezed orange juices (“Like the ones I saw in València!” my too-well-traveled husband exclaimed)! OMG bakery stocked with gorgeous looking cupcakes, giant cookies, lavishly-decorated cakes, European-style pastries, plump donuts!  Please note our family’s total disregard for what this grocery store is actually famous for: Fresh produce. Thank you.

Say what you may about the Great Conspiracy. This weekend we got to have our cake and eat it too.

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And we made a brouhaha out of the accidental rainbows (which regularly appear every morning) at the breakfast table.

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The DOUBLE RAINBOWS have nothing on this, as we all know, “A rainbow in the hand is worth two in the bush”!

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Russell: Sometimes, it’s the boring stuff I remember the most.

From the movie “Up” which we watched again this weekend. I told you: it’s that kind of boring weekend.

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Unknown Mami

45 thoughts on “Sundays in My City – Small Things in Life

  1. jen

    personally. I love the normal, boring, regular days!! I always pressure myself to do something exciting and get mad when I don’t, but then when I have just a regular day it feels damn good. then I wonder why I got mad at myself for not doing enough. it is silly. I love the movie UP. It is a perfect movie! how did you catch that rainbow? 🙂
    jen recently posted…From August to SeptemberMy Profile

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  2. writerwoman61

    Hey, I resemble that comment…my whole blog is based on the small things that happen in my life…

    Love the rainbows on the table…we have leaded glass windows in our door at the bookstore…pretty patterns on the floor in the afternoon.

    I hate shopping, except grocery shopping…your new store sounds like fun!

    Up is one of our favourite movies…”Squirrel!” [my whole family looks up from their computer screens].

    Wendy
    writerwoman61 recently posted…Sunday- Seals- Siamese Twins and Sci-Fi…My Profile

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  3. pattypunker

    yep, when wegman’s came to town it was all the same hoopla here. it became a destination. and fuckif i didn’t start dressing up for the grocery store. that blew. and yep, i walk down the healthy and fresh produce aisle but only to get to the marvelous cheeses and mediterrean bar.

    also what dufmanno said.
    pattypunker recently posted…gettin my shop onMy Profile

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  4. The Sweetest

    I stay home with my kid and STILL prefer a do-nothing weekend. Why all the rush to run around overextending yourself? I do love a fancy grocery experience, though. As long as the produce isn’t a false-fancy. Like, pretending to be awesome but actually picked too early and overpriced (e-hem, Whole Foods).
    The Sweetest recently posted…SurrenderMy Profile

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    1. Absence Alternatives Post author

      I agree with you on Whole Foods. I would like to have a Trader Joe’s nearby. A colleague of mine liked the Trader Joe food so much that after he moved (back) to India, he talked about missing Trade Joe. And his family did too!

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  5. dufmanno

    I am constantly making a grab for what I don’t have so I’m destined to remain depressed and unfufilled for my entire exsistence.
    When my life is mind blowingly dull and filled with the simple things I yearn for bright lights, big cities and universal adoration.
    When I quietly become the ruler of a small country and fill my life with booze, men, clubbing and excitement I want only the warm comfort of my down comforter and a free schedule.
    See how fate is?
    dufmanno recently posted…How About a WagerMy Profile

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  6. Justine

    We’ve been doing SO much these past few weekends that I’m done with them for awhile. And no, it’s not because I live in the city either. I think it’s the end-of-summer frenzy. After our trip this past Labor Day I’m ready for “the little things” 🙂

    And Up is one of my favorite movies. That quote from Russell always makes me cry…
    Justine recently posted…MonumentalMy Profile

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  7. SisterMerryHellish

    It really is the little things that make life worth while (mmm…cupcakes). A completely different set of little things give me a nervous tick and will quickly send me on a stabbing spree (if you click that pen one. more. time…)

    A rainbow in the bush? I attempted it once, but there was too much math invovled to get the rainbow to appear somewhere comfortable for me to recline and I wasn’t balanced enough (or tall enough) to get my crotch on the exact right place on the wall.
    SisterMerryHellish recently posted…Now at Target- The “It’s Pat” Cow and BigfootMy Profile

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  8. Nance

    Honey, at the risk of sounding like an Old Fart Broken Record…

    I’d give almost anything to have my kids–AS kids, I mean–sitting around my kitchen table being goofy dorks again. My son, at about the age of yours here, had bangs like that and wore that same expression so often. Can he come over for cake at my house?

    I read in Scientific American recently that they really DO wonder if time exists. Those of us with active imaginations have been trying to figure out how to revisit all those old, boring Labor Days that are supposed to string out behind us like pearls on a necklace.

    And we love “Up”!
    Nance recently posted…My LowcountryMy Profile

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  9. Andrea

    I’d kill for a more exciting grocery experience. We have to hit 3 different stores to fill our various needs. Ok, so Dunkin Donuts is one of them. It still counts, right?

    Reply
    1. Absence Alternatives Post author

      Your “regular” grocery stores do not carry donuts? Not the Krispy Kreme donuts in boxes? I PITY YOU OVER THERE! *HUGS* *BE STRONG*

      DD of course counts as grocery stores. You procure breakfast, the most important meal in a day, there, don’t you?

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  10. Miss B

    Life — no matter how “exciting” it might be — is primarily composed of small things, small-scale moments, little bits of nothing. If one can’t find the sublime in all of that, but has to wait around for something HUGE and earth-shattering…then what, exactly, is the point, anyway? (Which is to say that no, I don’t think it’s a conspiracy.)

    p.s. I assume you’re talking about the grocery store I’m thinking of, in which case, I have to agree with you — I never, ever buy produce there. I do all my produce shopping at the farmer’s market every weekend. And, though it’s completely possible to buy regular, run-of-the-mill grocery staples at this particular grocery for the same price, or cheaper, as any other grocery, I still can’t go to the one that’s about 7 or 8 blocks from my apartment very often, because I always get sucked into the deli and bakery sections.
    Miss B recently posted…Things That Stay Beneath The SurfaceMy Profile

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    1. Absence Alternatives Post author

      I agree with you about life. Was just wondering whether it is yet another “self-delusional” thing that we say to ourselves, you know, like Character counts. (Ok, this latter one I was being my sarcastic self as usual…)

      The new grocery store is going to be a destination in itself from now on. In my head, I have planned many many trips there to have a 3-course meal! AND they have 2 big TV in the eating area playing Food Network always!

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  11. Lisa

    My favorite weekends are always the ones that can be described as “uneventful”. Haven’t quite figured out how to spin it into something cool though. Give me a few minutes.
    Lisa recently posted…Sad GiraffeMy Profile

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