tea and sympathy

{enjoying some pomegranate juice and a toffee granola cookie at teaism, one of my weekend adventure stops.}

i woke up on saturday morning feeling pretty sorry for myself.

for one thing, it was 7 a.m., which is ludicrously early to be awake on a saturday. (if this whole, be-a-real-adult-and-get-to-work-on-time thing has killed my ability to sleep in on weekends i will be, as prince humperdink would say, most put out.)

for another thing, it was a saturday and i had nothing to do and no one to do it with.

and for the first time since i moved, the "if i were in salt lake..." thoughts started rolling.

if i were in salt lake maybe i would have been meeting some people for brunch at the blue plate diner. or maybe i would have been going to the farmers' market. or maybe i would have been riding my bike up city creek canyon. or maybe i would have been doing any number of other things with any number of dear, and dearly missed, friends.

but instead i was lying in bed. in arlington. at 7 a.m. with nothing to do and no one to call.

my first solution was to go back to sleep. because everything looks better after 9 o'clock. or 11 o'clock. or noon. whatever the case may be.

then once i woke up again i spent a few minutes toying with the idea of employing the sleep-it-away technique for the whole day.

but then i mustered my courage, girded my loins and decided to just make something happen. (something besides an all-day mope-fest, that is.) because when you are the new kid on the block, it's up to you.

so, i called dana and we filled the afternoon with a stroll through the american history museum, a quick tour of the department of justice and an early evening snack at teaism.

next was dinner with an old friend of my parents', who regaled me with tales of singing with my mom on the street for money.

then it was swimming and movies at a swanky hotel for michelle's birthday.

sunday was a new ward filled with all sorts of friendly people, and then emily invited me over for a homemade cafe rio dinner, which is way better than real cafe rio. especially when it is accompanied with a side of new friends.

i finished off sunday night with aunt joyce and "harry potter and the goblet of fire."

and so it came to pass that my potentially disastrous and demoralizing weekend turned out to be pretty great. and so it came to pass that i was pretty grateful.

i am sure it is not the last time i will feel a little sad and lonely for the familiar things and people i have left behind. i am sure it is not the last time that i will run down a mental list of ifs. and i am sure it is not the last time i will have to put aside fear and insecurities and reach out to new people and experiences.

but it feels pretty good to have conquered it this time around, at least.