Tiny Joys, Pt. 8: Baby Drum Travels the World
On the openness of strangers, dog massages, and the adventures of Baby Drum.
Hi friends!
I’m been moving around a lot this past month, and have been lucky to experience a lot of big joys lately. But it’s always a good reminder to think back to the tinier joys that ground me even when I’m in motion. So, here is our roundup of August joys!
Doing Nothing and Watching a Movie in Bed with a Friend - Is there anything better? I am not sure. I’m not usually someone who is good at sitting still. In fact, I get actively anxious if I’m not taking advantage of every moment. But sometimes, just lying in bed and doing nothing brings me so much joy and comfort. Especially when I’m traveling, I want to see as much as I can, but sometimes watching Notting Hill in London with a friend is just as good being out in London, too.
Giving Oreo a New Massage I Learned From an Instagram Reel - It is no surprise to anyone who has spoken to me for more than five minutes that I am obsessed with my dog, Oreo. And so, fittingly, I get a lot of targeted Instagram dog videos. But one video has changed my life.
Unfortunately, I could not find it again, and so I must describe it in detail. In it, a woman comes home from work and explains how every day she has to give her dog a very specific massage. She starts by massaging him by his shoulders, then massaging halfway down his front leg, and then finally, his paws. She then massages his other front leg the same way, and does so three times each to “make sure it’s even” or her dog won’t like it. I thought it was funny how serious she was being, but then I tried it on Oreo, and he loved it.
Since then, I’ve also tried it on humans, and they love it as well. Thankfully, while Oreo is staying with my parents, my dad has been continuing these massages because now Oreo is addicted. If you try this out on your pet or a human, let me know!!
Shabbat in a New City - I’ve always found the community surrounding Shabbat to be so meaningful for me. But it’s an even more powerful source of comfort and joy when I’m away from home. When I left New York in mid August, I was sad to think I might not be observing Shabbat for a while. But to my surprise, I found myself at my friend’s parent’s home in London on a Friday night. And they were fellow Iraqi Jews from Baghdad, no less! (My grandmother is from there). They had even showed me a book they made about their family after leaving Baghdad, which was funny because my family has one just like it.
It made me so happy to find this community in a completely new environment, and it was a good reminder to always search for it no matter what.
Foraging for Berries - The friend I was staying with in London was very passionate about foraging for wild berries wherever we went. It turns out they are everywhere! Here is a collection of berries from that week.
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