I met some friends for lunch, and due to the timing, I arrived well into their meal, so I sat and chatted before ordering food to go. When I went to order my lunch to go, a woman in front of me in line was radiating joy.
“I’ve never been to Chipotle!” she told me. “And I’m SO EXCITED!”
Her exclamation caught the attention of the two young adults working. Without saying a word to one another, it seemed that they both decided to make her first time there the most wonderful experience. The man handling the tortillas, rice, and beans explained all the ingredients, and when the woman was delighted by the fact that they had brown rice, he told her that he was sure she would love it.
She marveled over the salsa selections, and the woman working explained each kind without a hint of annoyance and packed up each type of salsa so she could try it with her tacos and added the extra lettuce the woman asked for.
At the end of the interaction, the woman explained that she didn’t get to buy herself lunch very often, and she had walked in randomly without really knowing much about Chipotle, and the cashier said, “I’m so glad that this is where you came to have your lunch today. I hope you love it.”
It was such a small interaction — maybe three minutes? But to watch two busy food service workers (one of my deepest beliefs is that everyone should work food service and/or retail for a year because it is SO HARD) take the time to be kind and patient with a woman who they could have easily treated as a frustration was so tender.
The world feels so harsh right now, and it’s easy to feel downtrodden. But more and more, I’m convinced that there are tiny, beautiful moments every day (even in line at Chipotle) and that the most important thing we can do right now is find ways to take care of one another in large and small ways.
I paid for my tacos and walked to fill my cup with Diet Coke, quietly crying because I was so grateful to have witnessed such a lovely moment. I hope you get to experience something that makes you cry happy tears in a weird public place this week.
• These photos of teenagers in their bedrooms in the 80s and 90s are my favorite thing on the internet in a while. Her new book featuring even more photos will be released on August 12th! (The New Yorker)
• Do you really need 10,000 steps per day? Probably not. (Self)
• When Joy tells me what I should be cooking, I listen. I loved these mid-summer picks! (Joy The Baker)
• For my fellow elder millennials and Gen X friends: I loved this article about how Natalie Merchant used her platform to help Tracy Chapman. Two incredible artists. Did anyone else sneak around to watch VH1 and MTV as a child? Just me? (Substack)
• I loved reading T Kira Madden’s words about connecting to herself and her homeland through food. (Bon Appetit)
• I can tell I’m gonna need a treat this weekend, and I’m fairly certain these milk chocolate banana pancakes are gonna be it. (Joy The Baker)
• My beautiful friend Megan Stielstra wrote about grief through the lens of losing her father and Sinead O’Connor in the same summer, and so many writers I love contributed to this anthology honoring Sinead O’Connor’s work and life. (Substack)
• I just ordered this ADORABLE Bauble Bar custom tote for work, and I am so excited for it to arrive! (Bauble Bar)
• Over on my Substack, I wrote about getting all new clothes this year and the approach I took to rebuilding my wardrobe from scratch. (Substack)
• This late summer plum galette looks incredible. Stone fruit is SO GOOD this year. (Joy The Baker)
• Please consider my endorsement of this skirt as your sign to purchase a denim skirt. They’re back, and I can’t stop wearing this one. (Talbots)
• I teach creative writing, and this is what it’s doing to students. Yikes. (NYT Gift Link)
• Loved this list of Time’s 100 Best Podcasts. (TIME)
• I love a good shirtdress, and sometimes, they are hard to find as a petite. I recently got this one from Ann Taylor, and it manages to look structured and not sloppy.
• As I get older, I feel like time passes more quickly. There are ways to control it and maintain a youthful mindset, psychologically. I’m intrigued. (The Atlantic Gift Link)
• Far be it from me to turn down a day in bed or on the couch, but I did love the suggestions in this anti-rot routine. (Bustle)
• Here’s how to craft the perfect itinerary for any trip. (Travel and Leisure)
• I know that most of us are not quite ready to talk about back to school, but as a freshly-minted vice principal, I’ve been back for a few weeks now, and I’m ready for someone to bake me everybody’s after-school cookies (it’s me, I need to bake them). (Joy The Baker)
• The Atlantic’s editors on books they recommend over and over. I love this list because there are books I recommend to nearly everyone who asks: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Girlhood by Melissa Febos. My list is LONG! What books do you always recommend? (The Atlantic, Bookshop)
