By Naomi Serviss / New York City
Simple pleasures
have been buoying
my hunkered-down spirits
these past two years:
A hearty chunk
of warm sourdough
sesame-seed bread,
Small Batch Meyer Lemon Marmalade
spread on top.
Whole-milk White Moustache yogurt
aswirl with sour cherries.
Creamy goodness.
Sugarless fruit scones
sweetened by cran and blueberries.
Sesame noodles
from our favorite Chinese restaurant.
Magnum Ice Cream, any flavor.
It’s not just
about sating raw physical hunger.
It’s also about
nurturing emotional well-being
with critical self-care.
Easier said.
It’s okay to be happy
even though the world is a mess.
I listen to show tunes
on my early morning
Central Park walk
with our new-ish rescue pup Janis.
We soak in the splendor
of our surroundings.
senses attuned
to the sunrise and aroma
of newly mown grass.
Playing “Bébé Fetch”
with our two-year-old
Humane Society pup
tops all.
Bébé is a tattered
comfort squeaky toy
bearing a slight resemblance
to a teensy white lamb.
Once pristine,
Bébé is now
A paler shade of white,
lovingly gnawed to its nubs.
Janis zooms
around the apartment,
daring us to wrest it
from her mouth.
It’s a joyous
never-ending frolic
up and down our hallway.
We have three dog beds
(I know, I know)
so she can nestle
into a soft spot anywhere
in our three-room apartment.
Her plushest bed
sits at the foot of our bed.
She’s fond of it,
but prefers nestling
between us, her warmth, radiant.
Janis soothes me
when the near-constant construction cacophony
crushes quiet and threatens
my concentration.
I rise at 5 a.m.
to savor two precious quiet hours,
only birdsong in the background.
Her feather-duster tail quivers
when Lew awakens
late in the morning.
Every day after entrance is granted,
Janis bounds up
our quilted turquoise and white,
polka-dotted makeshift pathway
to Lew’s face,
which she christens enthusiastically
with nonstop tongue-licking.
That makes me crave
(I don’t know why)
killer sugarless fruit scones
from a homey Eastside bagel café,
creatively named:
Bagel Shop.
It’s a spacious bakery
where magic happens,
crosstown.
The air is bagel-y
with everything seasoning,
toasted sesame seeds, cinnamon and coffee.
Their best-in-show is pumpernickel.
I’m a gluten for pumpernickel.
We workout pals
pre-Covid, if memory serves),
hung out
to nosh, caffeinate and applaud
each other’s stamina.
I miss those days.
One universe-cracking-open fact
learned over these past Covid years:
Carbs are not the enemy.
Good carbs, that is.
Organic, hand-crafted
artisanal bread
is healthier,
better for the environment
and tastes worlds apart
from supermarket loaves.
I recently discovered
the motherload
of tastebud-heaven sourdough bread.
Sourdough Gambit
(cute, right?)
is a fledging, limited-supply
pandemic-inspired bakery
that delivers to
our Upper West Side abode.
Adam Simon
founder, baker and former finance pro
ditched Goldman Sachs
after two decades
to find his bliss
in a Queens commercial kitchen.
Using the best organic flour
on the market,
this Wizard of Wheat
crafts off-the-beaten-
taste-bud track
with imaginative manna.
The sesame is seeded within;
a country loaf
has just three ingredients.
Olive lovers will celebrate
the Moroccan loaf,
plump with North African-inspired flavor.
I’m partial
to the walnut cranberry,
the apple-pie cookies
and the cinnamon buns.
My nonfood-related blissful moments:
Practicing mindful meditation
followed by yoga stretches
powers most days.
I miss Sunday’s
in-person community meditation services
led by Buddhist guide Allan Lokos.
His uplifting
dharma teachings,
delivered in
a resonant baritone voice,
hint at his former Broadway career.
Occasionally tuning into
the weekly Zoom sessions
doesn’t ring my bell.
Still, our small white pup
warms my lap as I write,
her piercing Keane-eyes
shattering a gloomy mood.
My heart fills
as I stroke her soft form,
her head propped
against my writing arm.
Life is good.
Naomi Serviss is a New York-based award-winning journalist whose work has been published in The New York Times, Newsday, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Highroads (AAA magazine), in-flight publications, spa and travel magazines and websites, including BroadwayWorld.com