xmas eve

I  wear a sheer, tulle Simone Rocha dress to work, in celebration of the season. I pair it with a long black Wolford top and black leggings.

I get to work and decide I don't like the look. Leather pants or a full-length black slip would have been better. My honest co-workers agree. But some less discerning customers are complimentary. 

Within an hour, my leggings (which I am wearing for the first time) split in the seam. An unstated perk of my job is the magical Alterations department. I go there asking for a safety pin. Instead I'm told, "Take off your pants; it won't take long for us to sew that up for you." And within ten minutes, my pants look like new.

The store is quiet, yet I do surprisingly well.  All my customers, with no exceptions, are appreciative, kind, and in the spirit of the holiday. Not even one messy room.

I leave work around 6:30 and call for a Via.  Miraculously it's only a three-minute wait. I just need to walk two blocks to Fifth and 52nd. The crowds outside are wild. Barricades at every corner. Police everywhere. Streets blocked off. People with cameras holding up pedestrian traffic. I wonder if the tourists think New York is always like this. 

Finally, I get to my Via. He needs to go nine blocks in the opposite direction of where I'm heading before he can turn. My fifteen minute ride is tripled. 

I get home at around the same time Alexander's bus arrives from Philadelphia. My son is coming home for Christmas which makes me very happy.

Together we eat a big sushi dinner before he runs out to see a friend. But tonight he'll be sleeping at home; I like that.

WIshing everyone a happy holiday with hopes that they, too, get to be somewhere with those they love most.