Hello, sweet people!
I just visited my friend Eliza in Philadelphia, and we went to a Phillies game — baseball, if you, like me, didn’t know — with her hospital coworkers. The stadium was loud and lively, full of hoot-and-hollering Philadelphians of all ages. I bought an overpriced beer and a steak-and-cheese sub (when in Philly), and climbed up to our sky-high balcony seats to watch the game. The Phillies dominated, hitting home run after home run, and the crowd went wild every time. I was, at least for the night, a Philadelphia fan, and it felt good. It’s so rare that I let my guard down and embrace my home country in all its vast, sparkling glory, and I didn’t realize how badly I needed to do so until that moment in the stands.
Although I’ve lived most of my life on the east coast, I’m midwestern by blood: Illinois on one side, Michigan and Ohio on the other, American through and through. Since returning from Rome, people keep asking me if it’s hard to return to the U.S. after 6 months in Italy, and frankly, my answer is no. Italy is beautiful, but America is home, and while I have a million problems with my home country, I also have a million praises for her.
Jamie and Sidney, two friends from college, came to Philly from NYC for Saturday night, and it was so nice to be in the glow of kind, smart, funny Barnard women. We ate tomato sandwiches at Mighty Bread, puzzled, lounged, and hung out with Phoebe, Eliza’s boyfriend Andrew’s adorable baby niece. When evening rolled around, we ventured to Bok Bar, a seasonal rooftop bar with a rotating pop-up restaurant. We drank wine, ate crab rolls and fried seafood from the seafood pop-up, and ran into Eliza’s coworker because Philly is small like that. Our final stop of the night: an old-school bar with live music and $4 “citywides” (beer and shot combo) that struck me as extremely Philadelphia.
The next morning was Sunday, and we took it easy: a Dutch baby with caramelized peaches for breakfast and some low-key pickleball in the park. I have a personal goal to play more — not just pickleball, but in general — because we adults take ourselves too seriously, so our pickleball match was a step in the right direction. Here’s to silly games and recreational sports and learning new things!
Sunday night after Jamie and Sidney headed home, Eliza, Andrew, and I went to a soccer game featuring the one and only Malcolm Curtenius Fry, my little brother. Malcolm plays for the New England Revolution II, and when I saw that they were playing against the Philadelphia Union II at Subaru Park this past weekend, I pulled the trigger on my train ticket to visit Eliza. Double whammy of seeing Malcolm play and spending time with Eliza! I always get a little nervous watching my little brother play, mostly because I want him to be happy with his performance. However! It’s also so much fun to attend his games and bring my people along. Bonus: he and his teammates rocked it and won the game. On Friday, Teo and I are driving to Massachusetts to see Malcolm’s next match at Gillette Stadium before heading up to Vermont for Labor Day weekend.
For now I’m in New York, staying with Teo for the week. Right now New York feels like an equally magical and insane place to live. Dirty and expensive and exciting and alive. As I walk around, I remember that it takes effort to regulate my nervous system in New York, but that when I manage to breathe full breaths amidst the chaos, I feel strong and happy to live here. Within three days of being here, I have…
spent quality time with several close friends
eaten Tibetan hand-pulled noodles
attended the U.S. Open
enjoyed an excellent salt-rimmed margarita on two separate occasions
visited a Japanese stationery store
cooked eggplant parmesan melts at home (yum)
reunited with an old friend
jogged and yoga-ed
eaten a glorious summer meal with Teo’s mama and godparents
schemed about my next steps
Life is full speed ahead here, and at least for this phase of my life, I’m all about it.
Lots of love! More soon,
Phoebe
Love it, keep it up!
So reassuring to read this! You all have been so busy, I can hardly keep up. Thank you for this Phoebes.