A Year of Firsts

Rediscovering magic in the everyday.

mental health

  • Thanks for Trying

    A few times in my life people have told me I was “really brave” for doing something that I didn’t find particularly brave at all. It was just….what I did.  My brave actions have included:  I’m sure there are more – these are just specific conversations I remember where the brave word came up, where… Read more

  • Laughs

    I have always loved to laugh. And make people laugh, when I can. It (almost) never hurts to laugh more. Stand up comedy was one of my Dad’s favorites, and I can remember him retelling his favorite jokes, or rewatching comedy specials and still laughing on the third or fourth viewing.  He was a fan of… Read more

  • A ritual for morning grounding and summoning tears of joy

    Get up before everyone, and then lay in bed for a few extra minutes.  Put on your headphones, and play Hozier (or whatever music speaks to you).  Put on a warm and fuzzy sweatshirt or bathrobe.  Go outside and walk around your house at least once. See how the space has changed since the last… Read more

  • Summer Check In: 8 months

    If getting through January is like watching concrete dry, then August is like pouring honey into a cup of tea; it’s golden and sticky and sweet, and while it looks slow and lazy, it disappears way too fast.  I can’t believe school is starting here in just a few days (I know it’s already started… Read more

  • “The Point” of K-Pop Demon Hunters

    If you don’t have young kids who watch TV in your life, then it’s possible that you haven’t heard of K-Pop Demon Hunters this summer. However, if you do have a child in middle school or below, and they watch Netflix, chances are this funny little movie has provided your summer soundtrack.  The movie came… Read more

  • Death on Vacation

    It’s been challenging to write weekly over the summer. Partially because my daughter is home with me everyday and alone time is more scarce, and also because my brain is constantly boiling and after using it for the non-optional tasks, there is not much left. And yes, I do have AC, but somehow while that… Read more

  • Big Spring Project

    Of all my firsts, my big clothing drive was the biggest, and I just finished it. It was a massive commitment. I started collecting in May, and finally delivered the goods on June 21. This all started because I thought it would be fun to host a book swap with some friends, get some free… Read more

  • Knots

    I remember my dad packing a bunch of something in the back of a truck with me. I don’t know if it was one of the many times I moved, or a vacation, or some other occasion where I was moving a bunch of stuff from point A to point B. He would remind me… Read more

  • Evolution of Grief

    This week has been a hard one. I saw this picture of the evolution of grief. It’s just meme psychology, of course, oversimplifying something really complicated. But the idea I liked was this: grief never really goes away, but we build our lives around it and learn to live with it. In this book on… Read more

  • Such a friendly person

    The other day, I was grabbing a coffee with a mom friend of mine. I got into a conversation with the woman behind the counter about eyewear: contacts versus glasses, bifocals, the cost of all this, etc. The barista had a lot to say, and she had a method she had discovered for stretching her… Read more