No More Report Cards

Tomorrow I’ll celebrate yet another trip around the sun with the gratitude for my many blessings that has become the hallmark of my new life. In previous years, I’ve also used the milestone as an opportunity to reflect on the previous year, with an emphasis on all of the improvements I’ve made or the things I’ve accomplished. And, because I was rebuilding this phoenix from the ashes, I believe that approach served to encourage me and validate my hard work. Then.

This year I feel done with all that. It seems I may have truly internalized the idea that I no longer need to justify my existence. Which feels incredibly freeing. So now when I look back on the previous year, I’ll be reminiscing about how I lived, rather than how I “improved”. How I shared a bit of joy, or hope, or information. How I loved. And I’ll continue to share that with you in these weekly updates.

A Birthday Gift

In honor of my birthday, I will send a free copy of my book, Rising: Notes on a Resurrection (Rising by Christine D'Arrigo | Blurb Books) to the first person that messages me with an address through www.christinedarrigo.com. If you’ve already read it, you can always grab a copy for someone you think would enjoy it.

Ways I Found Joy This Week

Hosting a small, successful dinner party

Starting a jigsaw puzzle of Burano, Italy

Gazing at the gorgeous bouquet a friend brought me

Discovering Rana’s short rib ravioli

Finding Newberry Transcribe (About Newberry Transcribe) where you can work on the transcription of all sorts of historical documents (I’m currently working on a gentleman’s travel journal from the early 1800s. It’s combining two of my favorite things: puzzles and being nosy)

Receiving an unexpected gift of my favorite, almost impossible to find body cream from a bestie; anointing myself with it and being instantly transported to the Zurich hotel room where I discovered it

Sharing Easter brunch in the sunshine with some of my favorites

Things I Learned This Week

A bit about the 1801 Battle of Copenhagen and its association with the phrase “turning a blind eye”

That magnolia trees have been around since the time of dinosaurs

That Zyrtec can cause drowsiness (thrilled to know it’s not sudden-onset narcolepsy)

Quotes That Resonated This Week

You are not the darkness that you endured…you are the light that refused to surrender.

Anon

The price I paid to exist

was a mother who couldn’t love me.

My karma was a daughter

made from stars.

Jessica Jocelyn

The work of the mature person is to carry grief in one hand and gratitude in the other and to be stretched large by them.

Francis Weller

What I Watched This Week

Love on the Spectrum (Netflix). I’ve always been a fan, but Season 4 has been exceptionally moving. The brilliance, the innocence, the courage of some of the participants is just astounding to me, and such a balm in our current hellscape.

The Pitt (Hulu). Season 1 built up to a brutally real finale that made me understand why the show won so many awards. Season 2 continues to entertain while addressing current issues.

What I Read This Week

Kin, by Tayari Jones. Her An American Marriage made such a lasting impression on me that I was thrilled to find this latest at my library. And it’s equally as captivating and masterful. The story follows two motherless girls, “cradle friends” who have been raised together in Honeysuckle, Louisiana, as their lives diverge. Such strong voice and character development.

The Bright Years, by Sarah Damoff. One of those books I’ll remember for a long time. Beautifully heartbreaking yet redemptive, it’s an exploration of inheritance, secrets, grief, resilience, and love. Each of the three main characters narrate a portion of the story, illuminating their unique perspective.

How to Be OK When Nothing is OK, by Jenny Lawson. Irreverent and hilarious while actually dispensing wisdom. Extremely timely.

Also, still plodding through Wuthering Heights (props to the CWP for her dramatic reading skills) and The Indifferent Stars Above (so many fascinating details that I want to savor).

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Thanks for reading!