Loose Bliss

I feel incredibly good today physically, mentally, and emotionally. I got up this morning and took Cat to work and then headed home to do some housework. I started a load of dishes and laundry and then headed out to check out some office supply stores that I’d heard had a great selection of fountain pens and ink. I know it’s incredibly geeky to like office supplies so much, but I think it’s a genetic glitch as my mom, my daughter, and I all love office supplies.

The word on the street (i.e. the Internet) is that there is a cool office supply store with fountain pens in Oak Park. I pull out my trusty Telly Tubby (telnav) and map the way to what I hope is pen nirvana. It’s about a 45 minute drive and I pass the time by listening to really great music on the stereo and thinking about all the good things that have come my way lately:

• We have a beautiful house in a nice and safe neighborhood.
• I have a wonderful dog that we got at the pound and who has turned out to a wonderful friend and companion.
• A few hours alone to head out and spend time by myself.
• A great new job working for a boss I really respect

As I thought about how great my life was, I realized that my body felt loose and relaxed. I didn’t feel the tension that I usually feel in my shoulders and I felt totally relaxed and at one with the world around me. I don’t feel that way very often so I took a few minutes to savor the feeling of being relaxed and in tune with my body.

Arriving in Oak Park, I found Pieritz Brothers Office Supplies to be a small and charming store in a residential area. It was founded over a hundred years ago and has been in the same family every since. The store was chock full of the old and the new. I found some great new Lamy fountain pens and antique pens for sale. They also had some great inks that I hadn’t seen before. I purchased a few new inks and a great new notebook and a few note cards.

Googling fountain pens on the Internet had turned up another office supply store on the way home that was supposed to have a great supply of fountain pens. Unfortunately, they were closed, but I was in such a great mood that it didn’t matter and I headed home. I relished the feeling of peace and ease that I was feeling and prayed the blissful feeling would last a little bit longer.