Friday, December 12, 2008

the reason for the season


the day after i moved to london in november 2004 for a short 6-month work/travel stint, i met a new friend. correction: i met my future wife. i'm not sure at which point during our six months spent as roommates we started referring to each other as "wife" and "wife" but it might have something to do with the fact that i cooked her meals while she ate mushrooms right out of the pan before they had time to grill, or the fact that she is the only reason i made it to work on time everyday because she'd scream my name until i bolted out of bed in a huff, stumbling to the bathroom with my eyes closed. we certainly took good care of each other for the duration of that time, and continue to be partners in crime 4 years later.

we lived on the infamous Kings Road in Chelsea. while surrounded by the poshest of stores (diesel, french connection, jigsaw and molton brown...to name a few), my favorite by far was paperchase. the day before i flew home, i spent about 2 hours in that store to stock up on everything i thought i might need (ok, want) before i could make it back to london. i was devastated to give up the tradition of grabbing a cup of caffe nero's coffee and perusing paperchase for hours on a sunday afternoon.

that is until one day, i wandered in to borders here in orange county and POOF! an ENTIRE section of paperchase goods. an orgasm to the eye. i peed my pants with excitement at the possibilities of owning it all. each and every delicious notecard, pen, ipod case and journal.

let me cut to the "chase" here. for christmas 2004, i bought my wife a 2005 calendar/diary from paperchase. and each year since, i've continued the tradition. there's nothing that quite makes it feel like the year is coming to an end...nothing that gets me in to the holiday spirit... and nothing that takes me back to that magical time spent in london, as the feeling of purchasing two fresh-off-the-press, untouched and uncluttered planners for the upcoming year. one for me, and one for my wife.

yes, i know. some people watch "it's a wonderful life." some people start playing christmas carols in their homes on the first of october. some people drop coins in the salvation army bucket... and some get "wrapped" up in the stress and anxiety that comes with shopping for everyone and their mothers. i delight in the simple pleasures like fed-exing a tiny little package to one of my best friends, and wishing her a good year:

1 comment:

Joanna said...

And I fucking LOVE it! Thank you for carrying on tradition.

Love,

Your wife