10 Offline Things I Did This Week

Home for the holidays edition

Good morning.

I’m writing to you from the living room of my childhood home in Connecticut. The constant hum of my niece and nephew forms the house's joyful (yet hectic) symphony. I’ve been here for five days, staying in the same room I was brought home to from the hospital 34 years ago.

My parents still live in the house they bought when they were 28.

Now, they’re 65.

I feel grateful to come home to this place. This is where they raised my sister and me, a cat that lived to 15, and a (crazy) yellow lab. The haven where we took awkward school dance photos, held every family birthday dinner and experienced the highs and lows that made up the rhythm of family life.

I know going home for the holidays can be complex for many people. Someone once told me, “You can never return home the way your brain thinks you can.” Meaning, the home you knew as a child doesn’t exist in the same way once you’re an adult—it lives only in your memory.

When we “flee the coop” and enter adulthood, the lost innocence, lessons learned, and accumulated experiences make it so that we can never go back home the way we once knew. That’s why so many of us feel homesick for something we can’t quite grasp—even while we are “home”. There is something sad but sweet in this.

The idea of home is such a funny one— is home a feeling, a place, a group of people, or a state of mind? Is home where you were born, where you were raised, or where you currently live?

If home is where you are from, can you ever truly “go back”?

Whether you were home for the holidays this week or not, I hope you found some moments of peace in whatever way you find it.

Here’s how I found mine.

10 Offline Things I Did This Week

1. Walked along the beach. A lot. I grew up on the coast in CT, along the Long Island Sound, and we can walk to the beach from my childhood home. I’ve visited the beach nearly every day while out here. On Black Friday, I took Samson with me, and we had truly a picturesque day there. The water was a beautiful cerulean blue with strips of sage and turquoise. The sand was white, and the air was so clear after Thursday’s rain. Anyone else feel the beach sparkles deeper in the winter?

   

   Samson at low tide.

2. Watched the nail salon get ready for Christmas. I got my nails done at my hometown salon, and as I sat at the drying booth with only about 30 minutes left before closing, I looked around and noticed the rest of the patrons had already left. As I sat there (phoneless, with wet nails!), the staff suddenly began pulling boxes from the back. Within fifteen minutes, the nail salon transformed into a Christmas wonderland. I couldn’t help but notice the awe lighting up their faces as they each took a handful of decorations and thoughtfully placed them in each corner and surface. There’s something about the holidays that sparks a sense of wonder in everyone, no matter their age.

   

   Carefully decorating the tree with ornament bells

3. Cut down a Christmas tree at a Christmas tree farm. That’s some real Connecticut Wholesome™️ stuff right there. There were real oxen on the farm, red barns selling wreathers, cider donuts, hot dogs, cacao, and waffles. It was chilly, in the upper 20’s as we picked hunted the farm for our tree. My nephew picked a big tree for my parents, plump and round with lots of branches for ornaments, and my Dad sawed it down. Afterwards, we sat around an outdoor bonfire, with hot chocolate, hot dogs and donuts. It felt like the perfect start to the holiday season.

   

   The Christmas tree farm where we cut down a tree.

4. Ran 11 miles. Over the last few weeks, I’ve been adding on miles and training for December’s half in Central Park. Well, yesterday I did my longest run yet, and now I am starting to taper. 11 miles in the hills of Connecticut was no easy feat. I’m glad I did it and I’m glad I can start to taper! My 11-mile run felt tough yesterday, but the thing about running is that I can do the same route next week, and it might feel much easier. It’s a journey baby!

   

   Mile 7. Feet like bricks.

5. Ate a delicious Thanksgiving meal. My parents hosted thirteen people and my Dad made the stuffing, turkey, and gravy (the best stuff in my opinion!) My dad is a really good cook, and I think this year’s turkey was his best yet. The skin was crispy, the meat tender, and it was huge so we had leftovers galore. You know I made a leftover sandwich the next day on a baguette— mayo, cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, and turkey. The perfect sandwich.

   

   My Thanksgiving day plate

6. Talked to my grandmother’s best friend who is 97 years old. On Thanksgiving morning, I ran the local turkey trot and afterward popped over to my grandmother’s friend’s home to say hi. I’ve known her my whole life. It was special to share a few moments with someone who has had so much life on this planet. She spent fifty years as a docent at the Met and had a store that sold clothes to Marilyn Monroe. A DIVA!

7. Bonded with my aunt. A big part of offline time is uninterrupted face-to-face connection, and I had plenty of it this week with family and friends. I had some deep, meaningful conversations with my aunt, who is introspective, spiritual, and an incredible listener. I always appreciate when people make an effort to show interest in someone’s life when they are single and without children. Because, oftentimes, people don’t know what to talk to us about at family gatherings. After the job talk, I think people lose interest? I’m not complaining— it’s just something I’ve noticed and I know I’m not alone. So it feels good to be seen for our achievements and our individual lives, even if we haven’t hit the traditional milestones.

8. Drank hot chocolate, the dark and authentic kind— I’m getting really into the kind of hot chocolate that they drink over in Europe, and it’s not the pre-sweetened Swiss Miss we’re used to. If you’re looking for a higher quality, single-origin cup of cocoa, the Rózsavölgyi Csokoládé Drinking Chocolate is a good place to start— it’s pricey, but you can truly taste the quality. I like it for a mid-day pickup during the cold months in place of tea or coffee.

9. A neighbor gave me a huge bundle of magnolia from her backyard. No words. Just gratitude. She’s a landscape designer who has filled her backyard with beautiful plants that make perfect clippings for the home all year long. Grateful for this harvest!

   

   Next-door neighbor gave me magnolia clippings to take with me back to Brooklyn — a highlight of my week

10. Admired the foliage in my hometown. I don’t know if it’s the drought or what, but we’ve had the best foliage this year. Usually, it’s gone by Thanksgiving, but not this year: it’s bright and ever-present.

    

Thanks for reading, and I hope your week included moments of offline joy, reflection, and even a touch of mundanity. Feel free to share this free list with a loved one if you enjoyed it!