My Nook.

Here’s the cozy spot in this old house on The May where I have so much fun. (Click on the image above and you’ll see my nook in its entirety.)  The cubbies hold all my papers…pretty cards, fun stationery, cookbooks (which remain unopened), all kinds of colorful pens and pencils.

A friend’s painting of a sassy lady hangs above my desk. She speaks to me everyday and welcomes me into her world. Sometimes, if I’m lucky, a cat sits on the desk with me.   I like my little space. A lot.

I have a file in my desk drawer that’s labeled “stuff.” Don’t you? Mine is fat and needs purging. Once a year or so I look at it. At my age, I can never remember what’s in there so it’s always new to me, sort of like being re-introduced to old friends.

The first thing that I always notice is that I seem to keep all the kind and thoughtful notes that we’ve received. Many were written for no reason at all. Sweet notes, loving notes, unexpected notes. I could hardly throw any of those out, could I?

Then there seems to be a theme of friendship. Little torn-out bits from magazines, newspapers, books.   One of my favorites says, “A friend is someone who asks the second question.”

Another favorite is a reply to a letter I wrote in 1987 to the editor of the Sunday New York Times Crossword Puzzle. I had finished the puzzle and had no idea what it meant. I wrote the editor and received in the mail the most charming response….written on his ancient typewriter, its e’s and o’s full of old black ink, with an apology for having had to Xerox his answer since so many of us were confused. Could I ever throw that out? For a crossword puzzle freak, that would be like pitching a letter from George Washington.

And so the file of little treasures grows. There will be no purging this year. I just can’t let any of it go…not quite yet. It’s comforting to know that all my old friends will still be there next year when I decide to visit and be introduced to them again.