5 Things I Loved In 2022

January 2023-Milwaukee, Wisconsin

As you probably know by now, I spent the last seven years living in Jordan (with a strange, brief stint back in the states in the early COVID days. More on that weird time later).

After I moved back to Boston last April, I had a newfound appreciation for some things that I had taken no notice of before moving to Amman. I had absolutely taken them for granted, and why not? They were always there.

Since leaving and coming back, I find myself acutely aware and appreciative of things I never noticed before. I’m wondering if this is a temporary glow that will wear off, or a permanent change in how I look at life in America.

I’m hoping permanent – but time will tell.

Regardless, here they are:

1. Being Invisible

Yesterday I went to the grocery store with Raja. We are staying at my parents’ house in Milwaukee, WI, over the holidays this year, so we borrowed their car and drove the half mile, over on Wells Street and down 68^th Street, to Metro Market.

We bought groceries: bananas and apples and milk and half & half and peanut butter and bread and New Glarus Spotted Cow, of course. (When in Wisconsin, this is a must.) We paid for our groceries, loaded them into my parents’ van, and drove the half mile back home.

Boring, right?

Exactly!

I love, love, love how no one looks at me twice here. Or even once. It’s such a relief. I blend right in at the grocery store, at the pharmacy, at Colectivo, the coffee shop near my parents’ house. If anyone does glance my way, it’s to say a friendly, Midwestern good morning.

In Jordan I felt I was under constant scrutiny from the moment I stepped outside of the house. I was very obviously a foreigner. I was not constantly being harassed or catcalled – though there was a fair amount of that – but I just garnered a lot of attention because I stuck out.

People were interested. They glanced over at me. They needed to check on what I was wearing, what I was buying, wedding ring on my finger?, what language I was speaking. It was exhausting.

I longed to just go unnoticed, and now I do.

2. Rivers, Lakes, Oceans And Just Plain Old Grass

After living in a desert country for many years, I wanted to be on or near or in rivers and lakes and oceans as much as I could this past year. I think I succeeded!

Also, I never realized-before moving overseas-what a luxury it is to have so much green grass all around us! I wrote about this in another story: When I’m in America, I Miss My Husband.

3. Brandi Carlile

Okay, this has nothing to do with living in Jordan or America. I just really, really love Brandi Carlile. I went to see her live performance of her “In the Canyon Haze” album in September. It was live-streamed to IMAX theaters – I hadn’t been to an IMAX since I was a kid – and it was gorgeous.

4. People Driving In Lanes

Here, there are white and yellow lines painted on the roads that show the lanes and where each car should go.

People follow them.

There, there are white and yellow lines painted on the roads that show the lanes and where each car should go.

People do not follow them.

5. Radiators

Raja and I live in a tiny apartment just outside Boston. Our apartment has a thermostat on the wall (luxury of all luxuries!). When it gets pretty cold outside, we flip the switch from “off” to “heat”.

Immediately we hear water gurgling through the pipes heating up the radiators in every room. About 20 minutes later, we notice that the house has indeed gotten warmer. We carry on with our day.

Jordan does not get very cold, compared to the northern US, with daytime temperatures usually in the 40s and 50s during the winter months. 40s and 50s, you think: not too bad!

The problem is the houses lack heating infrastructure. Some do have radiators, but they are prohibitively expensive (hundreds and hundreds of dollars per month) to turn on. People mostly use electric space heaters or gas stoves, turning them on and off throughout the day, or get by with a lot of blankets.

In the Jordan winters, we spent a lot of time during the day managing being cold and getting warm. Heating up water for the hot water bottle and then scampering back to the bed/couch to pile all the blankets back on top of us. Hanging the towels in front of the space heater to dry out, so they wouldn’t stay damp and wet all day.

Here, we don’t spend much time working on getting warm. Flip the switch: go on with our day.

(This makes me reflect on the privilege we have, and how many people in America do not have the option of flipping a switch, being warm in a house or apartment, and going on with their day. This is not as simple as a Jordan vs. America infrastructure split.)

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And a few extras: the fact that all the grocery stores carry Havarti cheese, my favorite. Snowflakes sparkling in the sunshine. Living close to the ocean. Living close to my family. Being able to run in shorts and a tank top. Sidewalks. Less horn honking. And having my 1-year-old nephew as our neighbor, just an 8-minute walk away.

What things did you LOVE in 2022? What are the simple or profound pleasures you enjoyed last year?