A Year of Firsts

Rediscovering magic in the everyday.

Writing

  • Apathy is (not) hot

    I have not been able to help myself from looking at the endless internet discourse on Taylor Swift since the release of her new album. My Lord. People have some VERY serious opinions about these 12 pop songs. Some people think it is her worst album ever. Others are scanning her yearbook to figure out… Read more

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • Tangibles and Intangibles

    This week, my husband pointed out that our kousa dogwood had its first ever blossoms. Several years ago my mother-in-law, knowing that I really wanted one, came to visit and presented me with a long stick with a root ball that she had placed in her trunk. When I asked her what it was, she… 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

  • Collecting a Pile of Stuff

    I have meandered back and forth from my original intention here – which was to document the new things I do this year.  One thing I was interested in was planning some kind of event, and doing something fundraiser-y that wasn’t my job. For those who don’t know, I have been a non-profit fundraiser for… Read more

  • Stories from Earth Day

    This week was the 55th Earth Day, and aside from some fun social media posts, and participating in my annual Town Wide Cleanup for the 3rd year in a row, I didn’t think too much about it.  The town clean up is an “on your own schedule” affair, with the town providing bags, rubber gloves,… Read more