The Ten Best Days of the Year (2024)
Surprise inside!!!!
This year, I turned 30. It was awesome. In the leadup and followup to the Big Day, I had plenty of people ask how I felt about Turning 30, some in tactful sincere ways and others in jokey cynical ones. What I said, generally, was a variation of “Well, my mom had me the year she turned 30, so I know it was the best year of her life!” or “I always love my birthday! I like adding to my collection!” What I wanted to say was “Do you have any idea how many people I know would have loved to turn 30?”
I understand there is a lot to fear about aging. But my anxiety around aging, whether it’s the superficial where’d-my-eyebrows-go part or the more disturbing where’d-my-thyroid-function-and-joint-cartilage-go part, has yet to surpass any anxiety about Dying Right Now. Aging is not guaranteed, and I know a ton of people who never got to do it. So, I simply do not have the patience to fear something I feel fortunate to get. And every year, when I look back at where I’ve been and what I’ve done, every year—even the really rotten ones, like 2019—I write this list and I feel grateful.
And, hey, 2024, what a year.
I carpe’d some big fat diems. From June to September wait no October DANG, November, I spent occasional weekends at home and mostly flew or drove all over the country world doing cool stuff. Most of time time, with Myles. Often with my friends or my parents and/or my brother. I also got to spend lots of time alone, which is one of my favorite states of being. On a cloudy, drizzly day in Barcelona, I walked alone to the edge of the Mediterranean Sea just after sunrise and stood there and thought Hattie Thoughts. At a wine bar in Brooklyn, I kept choosing bottles that were almost-out and getting the last dregs of a drink for free, while I read a library book by myself. I bought Birkenstocks. I wore more blush than ever. I started the year in my family’s living room singing karaoke with my sick cat laid up in the next room, drugged out of her mind.
A little over a week ago, Myles and I were sitting at a bar in Seneca Falls, New York, drinking a “grinch punch” and a “holiday bourbon bomb.” We kept naming things and saying, “Was that THIS YEAR?” I said, “I went to that fashion show with Cole and Claire,” and he said “I went to two games at Oracle Park back-to-back.” I said, “I took that Diane Seuss reading workshop. Was that only April?” and he said “I had my first Maude shows of the season at UCB. Was that only May?” All four of our parents have been to our apartment now. And my brother has slept on our futon. And I learned that I used to work with our next-door neighbor. So many things almost made the top ten list this year: night swimming, Baltimore (twice), Chappel Roan and Sutton Foster and photo shoots and the bar in the Nordstrom shoe department. Don’t worry; you’ll hear about them eventually.
This year, I turned 30. I spent the day surrounded by people who love me and are excited for my future. Which is to say, I spent the day the way I spent the year. It was a good one.
The Ten Best Days of 2024
10. March 6 — After work on March 6th, Myles drove me up to Skate Time in Accord, New York, for a karaoke-and-roller-skating night. A Hattie’s dream come true. And! or, But! The weather did not clear up, as it had been forecasted to. Once we were properly in the foothills of the Catskills, the fog congealed in the darkness, sticky and cold and murky. We crawled along at 10 MPH, through twisty roads, the headlights illuminating a yard or so at a time but nothing more. As other cars came around corners and crested hills, we slowed even more, tiptoeing past blind driveways. Eventually, we came out of the fog. On a random Wednesday night, I sang “Brand New Key” and “Oh! What a Night” on roller skates, while other skaters cheered and clapped, and then sang along to “Love On Top” while circling the rink. Myles and I ate barbecue and I sweated through my Sailor Swift T-Shirt. And then we drove home.
9. May 25 – This was a huge day, part of a Memorial Day Weekend roadtrip that took us to Buffalo, Cleveland, and Baltimore over the course of a long weekend. Myles and I woke up early and drove to Niagara Falls. Now, when people ask me how I like New York City, one thing I say is that it is exactly the way it appears in the movies, just as glittery, just as loud. Niagara Falls is very similar! I’d never been, and it felt like I was living in a postcard and a summer blockbuster and a turn-of-the-century rom-com all at once. From here, we drove to Cleveland to meet friends, with a pit stop at Lake View Cemetery (we like cemeteries). Along with the weeping Haserot Angel, I also saw many baby geese sleeping in a pile, which was so cute. Then we hung out with a blob of our Ohio friends at a bonfire and ate our weight in various tasty snacks and dips ! Editor’s note: I was tempted to give this spot in the list to May 26, when I got a free steak, and we saw a giant shoe.
8. September 10 — My brother Teej, who is the coolest, was in NYC for a visit. He cooked “fake beef Wellington” for us, which was delicious, and then we went and saw The Book of Mormon. Then, we brought home cheesecake. All of this on its own is stuff that would make me happy. Having it all in one fell swoop elevated the whole dang day. Also, I know for a fact that my brother knew every word of The Book of Mormon before we saw it. And he still laughed throughout. He still felt tickled by every punchline. It was his favorite part of our visit, which made it my favorite, too.
7. February 14 – On Valentine’s Day, Myles and I took the day off. We drove all the way out to Orient Point, then took the Cross Sound Ferry over to Connecticut. Then we ate at Denny’s, and then we drove home. This may sound extremely simple. And it is! We talked, and talked, and talked the whole time, which is what we like to do. We went out on the deck, even though it was blisteringly cold, and looked out on the water, and both wished we had brought binoculars. The world was cold and very still. In the middle of the week, it felt like we hit pause on life and went to go exist in a vacuum for a few minutes.
6. July 3 – Myles and I went to the airport and picked up my parents. Then, we drove to Atlantic City for the Fourth of July weekend, to see, among other things, Willie Nelson, a giant elephant and crab cake grilled cheeses. This first night, we climbed a lighthouse and walked the boardwalk and chatted and ate, and laid out our outfits, and got ready to have a great weekend. And then we did.
5. June 13 — I performed my solo musical comedy, I Was Never Cast in Annie, for a packed crowd of my friends. I wrote and memorized and rehearsed and presented this show in just under a month, and I’m pretty damn proud of it. But the best part was, right before I came onstage, when I was standing in the dark behind the door, I heard “Please welcome Hattie Hayes,” and then I heard the entire crowd of my friends absolutely lose their sweet precious minds screaming and cheering. I had to wipe happy tears from my eyes before I stepped onstage.
4. October 18 — My brother Teej and I woke up in Vegas and went to an 11am reservation at Hells Kitchen. This has been a longtime dream of Teej’s, and when he invited me, I was very excited to put together a Gordon-worthy outfit. The food was delicious, and we tried a little of everything, and my brother paid for it because he is a sweet little dollface. THEN, we ambled and gambled, just a little, before going to see Barry Manilow, who put on an incredible, vibrant, very active show. The whole day felt like a Vegas episode in a sitcom, and reinforced my gratitude for my brother, a partner in crime who is the complete opposite of me, and also just like me, but better.
3. September 23 — Myles and I woke up on a bus, after we half-slept on an overnight bus from Spain, after befriending six French retirees, after I had a work trip. So when we got to the Eiffel Tower, and the Palace of Versailles, I was sort of delirious with sleeplessness. The Eiffel Tower was totally empty at 9am on a grey Monday, and magnificent, and quiet. But when we got to Versailles, the sun came out. I kept saying “Oh my God, holy shit, this is unbelievable” over and over. I truly couldn’t believe my eyes. I took lots of pictures. I can’t believe those, either.
2. September 28 — In a shocking upset, this birthday weekend date won over my actual birthday. My mom and I spent my birthday weekend at a dance camp in the Poconos, which was a new experience for both of us, incredibly silly, and an ideal way to offset any age-anxiety around my 30th. We woke up on the 28th, got into our leotards, and immediately reported to dance class, where we learned some bitchin’ Irene Cara choreography. That night, we had the talent show, which is really what made this the best day. Mom and I performed our interpretation of the classic musical short “Tight Pants,” in coordinating mock neck shirts and super, super, super snug white pants. We were the only mother-daughter duo at camp, and when my mom walked onstage, hearing the audience lose its collective mind was the proudest I’ve ever been as her daughter. I am glad we consistently find places where our silliness is valued.
1. December 14 — On a bridge in Seneca Falls, Myles asked me to marry him, and I said yes. There’s more to this story, obviously. But the best part of this wonderful day was the eight-hour stretch between when he proposed and when we started calling and texting people in our lives. For a good chunk of this day, the only people who knew we’d just gotten engaged were me, Myles, and the entire town of Seneca Falls, who were elated and enamored and so generous with their joy. It’s pretty impressive, really, that a day so late in the year swooped in and won so handily, but leave it to Myles to raise and then exceed my expectations.
And, hey, guys, I don’t wanna jinx it. But I have a really good feeling about 2025.
Thanks for reading.
