Traveling yesterday in historic Fairfax, Va., I bumped into an unpretentious but fragrant treasure on Main Street:  The Havabite ("Have A Bite") Eatery.

The Havabite boasts all the flavors of Greece and Italy crammed into a tiny diner. With the wind whipping outside at 29 degrees, I was thrilled to be seated across from the heater, a floor-to-ceiling metal contraption that was  happily over-achieving. 

The thing about the Havabite is that while I have never aspired to be there,  it showed up  at the end of the day as providing the biggest helping of joy and meaning - way more than any accomplishments on my to-do list.

The roast chicken special turned out to be just like my Slovak grandmother's - deliciously falling off the bone .  When I told him so, the owner proudly supplied the recipe, which like the diner itself, was incredibly simple. 

Why am I telling you about the Havabite? Because it leads right up to an exercise I'd like you to try from the new book, The Gifts of Imperfection.  Also, because it fits right in with a mindfulness exercise that caught me by surprise at a recent coaches' training session. And finally, because it fits perfectly with some holiday advice I recently dished out for those in transition.  

Finally, if the holidays happen to bring some  toys and puzzles your way, they're not just for kids. The New York Times Science Section this week provides all the ammo you need to link playfulness with more creative problem-solving.  Thank goodness.

Here's to a mindful and playful holiday season!

                                            Pat