I’ve reached an age that my adolescent self thought of as pretty old: 34. I remember as a pre-teen thinking that celebrities in their 30s were washed up. Why is she still making music (or movies, or whatever)? Doesn’t she know she’s not cool anymore? Ah, youth.
In this occasional series, I share what I’ve been reading, watching, thinking, and doing.
What I’m Reading:
What I’m Watching: The Staircase; Jane the Virgin
What I’m Listening To: HerMoney, “Don’t Buy Shoes, Buy Buildings” with Nely Galán
Current Guilty Pleasure: ice cream again (still?)
Where I’ve Been Recently: Asheville, NC to meet up with some friends
What I’m Looking Forward To: Upcoming visits from my mom and a good friend
Where I’m Going Next: To the Dickinson School of Law to help students prepare for interview season
Latest Personal Project: Getting my pre-pregnancy stomach back? (But see “Current Guilty Pleasure” above.) I’m mostly just trying to stay on top of the day-to-day stuff right now, so no big projects at the moment.
Recent Moment of Joy: Walking on a beautiful trail and through a little town with my husband and son last evening, enjoying the perfect weather and scenery
Grateful For: The chance to sleep in today!
Have a lovely weekend!
Alexis
Last Sunday, I did something highly unusual for me. I treated myself to some spa time, took a boat out on the lake with my family, swam a little, and went out to dinner. The unusual part was that I did all of this while wearing no makeup. Though I haven’t really kept track, it’s possible that last Sunday was my first makeup-free day in nearly 20 years. (Ok, there may have been one or two days after I gave birth, but they were days on which I didn’t leave my house.)
The first anniversary of my dad’s death is approaching, and grief hit me like a punch in the stomach a few days ago. I knew these few weeks would be tough, as I remembered in vivid detail the events of a year ago leading up to his death. I’ve avoided writing in my journal for days at a time because I didn’t want to see what I’d written last year. I was in a terrible mood for a few days and didn’t realize why at first.
There hasn’t been a single day in the past year when I haven’t thought of my dad. There are photos of him in my office and throughout my house. Sometimes the memories bring tears, often they bring smiles, and occasionally, they bring both at the same time. But this recent grief was different. It was like a dark cloud, a heavy weight — not just sad memories, but something more palpable. My whole body felt depressed.
As I was working in my yard yesterday, I was struck by a metaphor. Weeds had taken over a neglected area in the back of the yard. With all the recent rainfall and the long summer days, they had spread rapidly, filling in every inch of open space around flowers and bushes. I knew if I didn’t remove them, they would rob the good plants of all the nutrients and sunlight, eventually choking them out.