Anticipation

I'm a firm believer in refraining from anticipating things: experience has taught me that hoping for, or looking forward to, something far too frequently results in at best, disappointment, and at worst, an unfortunate cosmic "you may NOT have what you want" moment (or even occasionally, a "you may have the OPPOSITE of what you want" moment).

I bore this prohibition in mind while setting the table for Thanksgiving. Even though I don't want to jinx matters by imagining the pleasure of having some of my very favorite people sitting down to a meal together, I did, nevertheless, allow myself to enjoy setting the table. It looks nice. And that alone is enough to make me happy for now.