The Simple Joys: a Cup of Tea, a Petit Four, and Friends

--A friend had leftover petit fours, so she brought them to the office, where we enjoyed them with our afternoon tea.  She asked me to take the rest of the package, since she's not supposed to eat them.  Of course I was happy to help this way.

--On my way to the office, and then later, on the way home, I was stopped by several people who said, "What are you carrying?"  I said, "Petit fours.  Would you like one?"  And of course, the answer was "Yes."

--I have this vision of a performance piece kind of art, where I carry plastic packages of petit fours to various locations and see people's reactions.  Would it be art or sociology?

--It's an easy way to spread joy, these little cakes.  They're small enough that we can eat one without guilt.  They're rich enough that we might be able to stop with just one.

--I think back to grad school days, when we'd go to The Fresh Market, which had a great mix of extravagant products that we could never afford, fresh produce that was reasonably priced, and bulk products.  We would treat ourselves to petit fours, which cost a quarter a piece.

--I want to remember how simple joy can be:  a cup of tea, a petit four, time with friends in the middle of a work day.

--And I've had more profound joys:  we've got big changes coming in the way we do English--we're adding a mandatory lab component, which means that faculty will be spending 5 hours a week with students, not 3.  Our department's full-time English faculty have been good-spirited about it and helped to figure out the logistics.  I feel supremely lucky.