What I've Been Into - Spring 2017

All,

It's...the middle of June! How that happened, I can't explain. Well, I can, but the explanation will be a very simple one: baby. Baby, baby, baby. How sweet she is, and how sweet it is to be her mother. All the feels. All the gazing. All the lazy afternoons in bed. And now that her brother has joined us for the summer, all the ways in which we are settling into the new dimensions of our days (and nights). Who knows when I will read a full book again!? No matter. I am reading other things: cries, coos, wide eyes, the width of her milky thighs, the way she responds to the wind. It is not for everyone, this mothering, but I am glad it is for me.

Books: 

1. Becoming Wise: An Inquiry Into The Mystery and Art of Living by Krista Tippett -- I really truly think this was the only book I read this spring. And if I was going to read one book only, I'm so glad this was it. It was one of my favorite books that I've read in years. It's not one to read quickly. You can't, really. There's too much to think about, too many quotes to transcribe somewhere, too many moments of authentic wisdom. I checked it out from the library, but when I find my feet again, I will walk leisurely through a nearby bookstore, buy it, reread it, and keep it near.

TV and Movies:

1. Avatar: The Last Airbender -- My husband stumbled across this Nickelodeon animated series when he was in his early twenties, and he's loved finally being able to share it with our son. I've watched some of the episodes, and they're pretty good! Lots of humor mixed in with kid-accessible morality & philosophy. My husband insists I'm Katara, and our son has gotten really good at pretending he's bending the elements. ;) 
2. Hook -- Yes, the one from 1991 with Robin Williams. We watched this days after our daughter was born, and we felt a lot of nostalgia for our own childhoods.
3. Poldark, Seasons 1 and 2 -- The newest BBC Masterpiece set in Cornwall in the late 1700s. So melodramatic, yet so gooooooood.
4. Manchester By The Sea -- Heart-wrenching. Lord. But superbly acted.
5. Gilmore Girls, Seasons 1 and some of 2 -- Because I was uninterested in it when I was Rory's age, but now that I'm Lorelai's--and now that I have a daughter--I get it. (Some of my students insisted I would.) Cute literary references all over the place, too!

Find and Arrow Signs:

1. This Dear Sugar column about deciding between having and not having children, and moreover, about the sister life you aren't living.
2. "The Blue House" by Thomas Transtromer, the poem referenced in the above article.
3. Luna Bars. The chocolate cookie dough kind. This spring, they've saved me. 
4. Three-letter-words. Our son is starting to read. Makes me all melty and eager and proud.

Enjoy these full and lovely months, friends. As always, please pass along your recommendations for anything and everything. xo