What a Day!

I grabbed twenty minutes this morning and walked. Hard. Fast. Pushing myself. No time to waste. Knowing that the cold air and rushing blood would energize me.
And it did.
Leaving the park, I was ready for all the day promised.

An audition.
With a piece I’ve been writing and rewriting for a couple of years.
The piece made it past the first round.
I was asked to come in and read it.

And then…just forty minutes later…a very lovely rejection letter.
(It really was lovely. Encouraging and sweet)

Rejection is part of life.
It is how we hone our skills.
And when the rejection is given in kindness, disappointment exists but does not devastate.

Really.

Then…to the National Museum of American Jewish History.
“Coming of Age” panel discussion. It was so interesting.
Mayim Bialik delivered the keynote.
She is amazing.
Do you know the word b’tampt? It’s like when a grandparent says “that child is so delicious I could eat him up.” Mayim Bialik is b’tampt. She is unabashedly, undeniably proud to be a Jew. Not one of these “sure, I’m proud of my Jewish heritage.” This is a woman who is living Judaism every day. Imperfectly, which she readily admits, as she strives to join tradition with modernity. She spoke lovingly of her maternal grandmother, z”l. She’s bright. And funny. And passionate.

Then…a three hour dinner with a friend. Girl talk. Books, work, friends, kids, politics. Everything.
It was, for both of us, a much-needed visit.

Today was full of promise.
The outcomes, true, were not as expected.
And yet…it was an extraordinary day.

Thank you, Holy One of Blessing, for making today just as it was meant to be.