More snow and The Bachelor (…whoops)

I’m in Boston now (well, Somerville, but same thing) and everyone everywhere is covered in snow. The red line is down and there are no parking spots left. Forty inches later, they're telling us there is more to come.

In the past few days, we’ve done the only thing you can do when your meetings are canceled and it’s too cold to go outside: we made breakfast sandwiches and banana bread, and when everyone was ready, we sat on the couch and turned on The Bachelor.

And so, here I am (still an episode behind) and attached to these women and their stories and their hair. I’m wondering: What do they chat about all day on that semi-circle couch? Where do they get their earrings? Why would they ever sign up for this?  I'm getting to know them, and getting to know people--even in this horrifying context--can be fun. There’s Jade who wishes it was easier to make friends in LA, Carly who pines for a boy who will treat her like her grandfather treated her grandmother, and Becca who feels strange kissing on the first date. There are small outfits, gossiping, tears and private airplanes. I’ll carry them with me, with embarrassment, until Chris Soules makes his final pick. I’ll blame this entire mindless journey on snow.

When I woke up this morning to shovel out my car the sky was light blue and pink. We were there together, adjusting to the new day.  As I shoveled people started to make their way to work. Most of them nodded in my direction and said “good morning." I said "morning" back. Maybe a succession of exchanged smiles is all we need to make all of this, and all that’s to come, bearable.