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Today I did something absolutely revolutionary! I went dancing!
In the middle of the day, in the sunshine, a few blocks from my apartment, a DJ spun and neighborhood people bopped and twirled and got down, kids and old people and everyone in between. My friend and I stashed our purses on the fence nearby and joined the revelry. (It was hot, and I’m suddenly feeling very pregnant, so we didn’t last too long. But I had FUN. The kind of fun I nearly forgot about, it’s been so long.)
This past week has been packed with these lovely, surreal moments that felt a little bit like my old life, like the before times. On Monday, I filmed a segment about making cheese plates for CUNY TV (!!) up in Morningside Heights, by Columbia. After, I walked all the way through the Upper West Side, my old stomping grounds, on the way to the subway home to Brooklyn, stopping for a bagel at Tal and feeling all sorts of nostalgia and big feelings. A lot of things were closed, but many were open. The vibe felt both familiar and changed.
Thursday I had lunch with Tamy Rofe, who owns Colonia Verde with her husband Felipe, at her beautiful restaurant in Fort Greene. We shared shrimp tacos and this bright, delicious tomatillo salad with feta that cut through the heat of the sticky day. Tamy is one of the women I write about in PLENTY, and we brainstormed some fun book launch ideas (stay tuned!) and I felt…happy and alive. How I’ve missed such simple pleasures as sharing meals and conversation with people I love but aren’t part of my immediate bubble.
Friday I put on a DRESS and HEELS - they were very small heels, and very chunky - and took the subway to SoHo for an event at the French Cheese Board. I drank many glasses of sparkling water and talked to some people I knew and some people who I didn’t. Then I came home and immediately took off those shoes and collapsed on the couch.
These are the sorts of things that used to be a totally normal part of my everyday life, but post-pandemic they feel novel and strange and pretty much wonderful.
I know the world is still in a precarious spot, especially with new variants. I know there’s going to be so much to process and grieve as we start to come out of pandemic life, both in our own personal lives and in the world.
But I’m savoring these moments:
The awkward second when I’m not sure who to talk to at a party.
The clink of my glass and a friend’s.
Moving my body amongst other moving bodies.
A maskless smile.
A hug.
A hug!
xo,
Hannah
PS I’ve always wanted to write for Saveur, and now I am! If you want to read about the best griddles, I wrote a guide.
I also wrote about Gouda over at the Cheese Professor. Gouda for all!