I am trying something new today. Linking up with Mama Kat’s Workshop and writing about, Currently, a simple list of things I am currently feeling as seen on Sometimes Sweet.
What I Am Reading: There is always an abundance of books on my nightstand. Right now, I am reading When A Crocodile Eats The Sun by Peter Godwin, Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple, & The Ocean At The End Of The Lane by Neil Gaiman.
What I Am Listening To: I am obsessed with Mumford & Sons newest album, Babel. Because my husband and daughter love the soundtrack to Les Miserables, I hear little pieces of all of those songs. My favorite running song is Power by will.i.am.
What I Am Thinking About: My restless spirit always pushes me to think. Sometimes too much. These days I am thinking about how the passage of time is full of joy and painful to witness. I am thinking about how much I enjoy unplanned days with my daughter. There is an easy cadence in not scheduling every hour of the day. I am thinking about my purpose and place in my own world. Thinking is a fulfilling and overwhelming exercise for me. So much of it leaves me feeling vulnerable.
What I Am Watching: I am not much of a television watcher. During the summer, though, I watch Love It or List It with my family. Earlier this year, my husband and I watched Downton Abbey and Homeland on Netflix. I am looking forward to learning how these compelling story lines will develop.
What I Am Bummed Out On: A recent trip to the pediatrician brought tears in my eyes. My daughter will turn 8 in January. The pediatrician mentioned words like puberty, period, and breasts and my insides yelled, “No, it is too early to talk about this.” My daughter is not there yet, but in a handful of years she will climb the escalator of learning what it means to change from a little girl to adolescence.
What I Am Loving: Dinner on Tuesday evening with some upbeat and lovely friends. Nothing compares to laughing with friends who get you. Words With Friends. My recent photography class. Rain. Coffee. My family. Routine. Uninterrupted days. Boredom.
Welcome! I am a lawyer turned freelance writer, essayist, and editor. On staff at Literary Mama and the co-founder and co-editor of the literary journal, The Sunlight Press, my essays and reported work have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lily, Saveur, Civil Eats, Brain, Child, ESPN and elsewhere. I am currently at work on a memoir on grief and culture and how it provides perspective on life’s ordinary graces. I invite you to appreciate the ordinary with me. I hope my daily practice of seeing the magic in the mundane helps you celebrate and find more of these moments in your life too.
This was a popular prompt! I totally understand your feelings about your daughter growing up “too” quickly. My son is grown now, and I’m still wondering where the years went!
I love Homeland! I recently read and article in Vogue about Claire Danes and her role in that show. It was good.
I love your “currently reading” list. Where’d You Go, Bernadette was one of my favorites that I’ve read in recent months, and the Neil Gaiman is next for me, right after I finish my current read, Sisterland.
I enjoy Love it or List it, but is it just me or are some of the people real jerks.
Kids grow up before we even know it. My 12 year old twin cousins told me they ‘wanted’ to get their periods and that their friends had started. I told them ‘its not fun it’s not something that makes you COOL’, but their kids fast forward 3 weeks and their mom calls to tell me that one of them had started. Her sister must be SO MAD. They grow up so fast.
Our interests define us in subtle ways. I always enjoy seeing your reading lists, interesting and versatile.
When our pediatrician brought up periods at a check up when my daughter was about 10, she held her hand up and said, “Don’t talk about it. Don’t talk about it. DON’T TALK ABOUT IT.”
Ugh….not puberty!!
Wow! That kind of “news” that “it” is coming is so hard to deal with. I’m with ya! My older daughter (age 20), asked when my 8yo was going to be able to get a bra! Seriously? Let them be kids a while longer.
These are always such interesting exercises, and they remind me that I don’t expressly seek out music to listen to.
After all those noisy years of parenting, I adore the quiet…
It is nice having a little peek into what you are reading, etc. I am reading “Where’d You Go Bernadette?”, too. I just started it yesterday. I am also reading Orphan Train, and The Bookman’s Tale, but I am sort of tired of reading that one.
Music – Nothing in particular. Whatever is on the radio. I need to work on this.
TV – I watch too much at night, and I am a court watcher if there is a good case on during the day (very time consuming to watch a trial). Homeland is a great show! It is definitely on my list.
I am loving my new blog, because I am writing poetry regularly – again.
I never usually participate in these sorts of exercises, but they are fun to read. Maybe I’ll reconsider.