Would it really even count as a writing challenge if I didn’t immediately fall behind in a few of my prompts?
The second prompt of the 31-day writing challenge was the author’s choice among three, all meant to explore how joy can feed a sense of being part of something bigger than ourselves.
PROMPT: What are times you lost track of time,
and felt in a flow?
The luxury of time escapes me, so I’m going with what initially comes to mind in response to these prompts. Pretty sure that’s intentional; having too much space to think just leads to more time not writing. Right?
Write!
I love a night in laughing with friends. Not acquaintances or friends you haven’t seen in a while (as much as those connections are meaningful, too.). I’m talking the type of friends who transcend the bounds of a bloodline and become the family you choose for yourself. I’ve been fortunate to have collected these kinds of connections through every stage of my life.
Prior to moving to Boston almost ten (!!!) years ago I was part of a friend group with a dynamic that doled out dopamine hits as a main course with every meal we shared together. Time would elude us as inside jokes were born from the contagious giggles that left everyone in tears. Game nights would evolve into late night scenes featuring five to fifteen friends crammed around a kitchen table howling at the spontaneous and somehow, spot on, combinations of the cards thrown down in the latest round of Cards Against Humanity.
We took our theme parties seriously. Oscar watch parties had a dress code of strictly fashion faux paus as we posed, prom night style, in front of a projected image of a red carpet. I’ve had birthday parties thrown for me where I was made Queen for a day. And a send-off to a new city appropriately dubbed my “Boston Tea Party”. Everyone brought a tea cup and yes, I still have a handful in my cupboard to this day.
When I relocated out of state, I brought this energy to my new home by hosting finale watch parties of any Bachelor franchise seasons, a Galentine’s Day brunch, and a sip-and-see for my new English Bulldog puppy known as “Drinks with Wrinks”. I settled into a girlfriend group who always ended evening hangs on my porch talking loudly about our cervixes (to the absolute horror of an uptight neighbor who always let us know when it was time to go to bed!).
In the earliest days of the pandemic, my husband and I would transform our living room into a dance floor as we streamed a Michael Franti concert, our individual interpretations joining together when our first dance at our wedding, “Life is Better With You,” came on. Our first date didn’t involve dancing, but we lost track of time getting to know one another at a corner table at The Abbey in Brookline’s Washington Square. I remember looking at the time and discovering nearly four hours had flown by, causing me to miss my grocery delivery. Steven accompanied me back to my apartment (note: at my request). After we shared a bottle of wine, more stories, and made out on the couch, I emailed myself with the subject line “I met my husband tonight!”.
As a society we are so overworked and overly busy. The social distancing of the early 2020s showed us just how super scheduled we were and never needed to be. Post-COVID, we have become booked up, once again qualifying our time spent with a completed to-do list or income earned. Sure, these reward centered activities, actions, assignments can also breed joy. I’d argue that the brand of joy is different from some of my most joyous times, found in the moment, doing absolutely nothing with my favorite people on the planet.