Ordinary Blessings

A week in which staying in the moment transformed each ordinary day into a peaceful, satisfying tile in the mosaic of a happy life. Finally, slowly, I’m truly absorbing the knowledge that I don’t have to be producing, or doing, to be worthy.

Also, a week in which the temperatures dropped precipitously again, providing plenty of opportunity for fresh air and outdoor exercise (as well as gratitude that I no longer live in a blizzard zone).

Ways I Found Joy This Week

Having a spontaneous cook-a-thon that renewed my desire to spend more cheerful time in the kitchen

On a weekly catch-up call with a dear friend

Treating myself to a solo happy hour with a book on my front porch after a busy day

Getting back in my pool after a long hiatus (before the cold front arrived)

Finding a gorgeous bouquet of tulips at my local market

Doing errands with a friend

Seemingly curing my shadow of several eating phobias developed as a result of his recent illnesses (fingers crossed)

Things I Learned This Week

The history of my new fave, yin yoga

That maybe I need two jackets (took me almost ten years in my new climate to buy just one)

About the carusi, or child slave laborers in the sulfur mines of Sicily in the early 20^th century

That some baby caterpillars use rhythm to trick ants into caring for them until they become butterflies

That research indicates that T. Rex walked on tiptoes

Quotes That Resonated This Week

The heart knows how to hold grief and joy at the same time. It closes when we believe it has to choose.

Cory Muscara

Joy didn’t arrive tap dancing, but tiptoeing around all the sharp and broken things.

Anonymous

What I Watched This Week

Will Trent (Hulu)

High Potential (Hulu)

Dexter: Resurrection and Dexter: Original Sin (Paramount +). After rewatching the original and New Blood over the past year, the CWP and I have been eagerly bingeing these newer offerings featuring one of our favorite protagonists.

What I Read This Week

What Boys Learn, by Andromeda Romano-Lax. A thriller that was a bit predictable but did a good job portraying our current crisis of boys and young men being indoctrinated into misogynistic entitlement. Speaking of which…

Nobody’s Girl, by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. When I found this book at my library, my feeling of good fortune was almost immediately replaced by anxiety. Did I really want to read this horrific account? Which was quickly followed by the thought that my squeamishness was exactly why I had to read it; that my privilege in not knowing such abuse should not allow me to look away. It’s such an important read for a number of reasons: Virginia’s courage, the fight for justice, the exposure of the entitlement of so many men regardless of economic status, and the psychology of the women who were trafficked. Maybe it’s just me, but I was most gutted by the knowledge that, shortly before she took her life, Virginia seemed to realize that the marriage that “saved” her had been abusive all along. A devastating read that won’t leave me for a while.

The Break-In, by Katherine Faulkner. A mom hosting a play date fatally injures a teenage intruder who she believes is threatening the children. She is cleared of charges on the grounds of self-defense, but in the aftermath becomes convinced that there’s more to the story. The slow trickle of revelations has me eagerly turning the pages.

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Thanks for reading!