All Washed Up

I did something today for the first time that most New Yorkers would probably find laughable. I dropped my laundry off. I attempted to do the laundry myself, but as I've moved to a new neighborhood I had to find the laundromat first. Google to the rescue. 51st and 2nd is the nearest one. Only three blocks down. Not too bad. I packed the two books I'm reading, my journal, and my water bottle and headed out to wash my clothes. Turns out that what Google didn't know was that the above location had been torn down and was under construction for something new.

As I had no clean underwear left I had to take advantage of the ladies at All Washed Up. It weighed in at 12 lbs which equaled $12. Much more expensive than if I'd done it myself but I digress. With my laundry dropped off and not ready for pick up until 7pm, my day kind of opened up.

I went to a new patisserie called Financier Patisserie for lunch. It's a cute little French cafe I've been wanting to try for about a week. They make a fantastic Coconut Rocher w/chocolate. It's basically a macaroon, but better. Then it was off to Home Depot, The Door Store, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Crate and Barrel. I'm looking for blinds and storage items for the new apartment. Realizing I was a block away from Central Park with books in my bag it seemed the perfect opportunity to go sit in the park and read for a while.

Sitting on that bench in the park, I was surrounded by beauty. French boys next to me, a lake and flowers in front of me, and a lovely lawn behind me. The sky was blue with white clouds. The birds were chirping. People were walking by talking and laughing and we were all enjoying our lives.

Then I saw a homeless woman with a bag as big as she walk past me in too big shoes and dig the remainder of an ice cream cone out of the trash. Our realities are so different. I threw away food last night that I was just too full to eat. She was a small reminder of how blessed I am. I have a home, food, and thanks to the ladies at All Washed Up, clean clothes.