ONE : Paul's home! I have written and deleted so much about our reunion over the past ten days. There have been some extreme ups and downs. Rebuilding a relationship in the time of Covid is both hard (I am realizing how much the stress of dealing with a pandemic and having Paul leave blended together and became the same thing in my head) and nice (Paul has two weeks quarantined here at home to process with me –– sounds fun, right?). We're getting there and we are good.
TWO : extremely-related, I enjoyed this medium piece on processing massive life change (like a pandemic) by science writer, Tara Haelle. “We can kick and scream and be angry, or we can feel the other side of it, with no motivation, difficulty focusing, lethargy…or we can take the middle way and just have a couple days where you feel like doing nothing and you embrace the losses and sadness you’re feeling right now, and then the next day, do something that has an element of achievement to it.”
THREE : and speaking of small (but satisfying!) achievements, we dove back into our cookbook routine. If you're new here, Paul and I are making our way through Dinner by Melissa Clark. We are currently 70 recipes in and I feel confident telling you that a) it's truly a great cookbook and b) I have missed eating interesting dinners.
FOUR : also, if you happen to have sourdough starter…make these.
FIVE : it's knit season. We made it.
SIX : (honestly, I haven't touched yarn in months and it's still 90* in San Diego, but I am super excited to knit Grace by Denise Bayron this winter.)
SEVEN : this is my official uniform from now until November 3rd. Many states have registration deadlines this month. Confirm your registration, request your mail ballot or find your polling place here. Want to do more? Text six friends and ask them about their voting plan. Still would like to do more? Sign up to be a poll worker. (In some areas this is a paid position!)
EIGHT : how to recharge with little kids underfoot. (A 2020 memoir.)
NINE : today is the last day to get a free 5x7 “Future You” print with your JAN-DEC 2021 Get To Work Book®. Here's to making plans again in 2021. I believe in us.
TEN : and finally, a poem, Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver (from her book Swan), that I read two weeks ago and cried over:
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happened better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.
