Issue 22: Awnings
Plus: chocolate cookies, gifts for the grieving + unpacking our relationship with time
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Worth Considering: Awnings
There’s a pocket outside of our house that never gets wet. Covered partially by the awning of our garage, partially by the large trees looming over our front yard, it will rain and rain and the patch stays dry. I pull into the driveway and it’s waiting there for me, perfectly placed where I exit the driver’s seat. I open my car door, hood up on my raincoat, but only a few drops fall from the branches overhead. I don’t need to wait for the rain to pass. I am dry, protected.
We spend most of our lives searching for that dry resting place. In a parking lot we scout the location of the space nearest to the entrance, dashing to escape the droplets. At the coffee drive-thru, we pull near to the window so that our outstretched arms may know only momentary dampness. We shutter windows, zip up coats, adorn knee-high boots. We want to strip down at the end of the day with still-warm socks and layers of long underwear radiating our body’s heat.
We hunt for awnings in places closer yet: in our lover’s palm, our baby’s coo, our sister’s eyes. They appear in the early morning hours of quiet darkness, solitude, and hot coffee. One shows itself in the burrowing of freshly-washed sheets at midnight. A generous overhang is revealed in a comforting poem, a line of prose that could have as easily been borne of our own heartache.
And so I take note of these awnings, these dry spots, peppered throughout my day. I see one in the care package sent from a friend across the country. I see another in a mid-day text from my husband, I’ll make dinner tonight. One comes in the form of stickers from the grocery store cashier, an offering to calm my restless toddler. They remind me I am cared for, looked after, never alone. The rain pours, but I am kept dry.
Worth Clicking: “Against the Muse Myth” by Molly Spencer - Lit Hub
A friend of mine (hi Faye!) sent me this article with a simple note: “I think you’ll appreciate this.” I appreciated it, yes, but I also bookmarked it to keep forever and have thought about it many times since receiving it—hallmarks of lingering impact. Though the thesis reckons with the conflicting forces of writing and mothering, I think any woman who feels the unrelenting pull between “mom” and “self” will relate to the sentiments of the piece. It’s a longread, but worth it.
“Amid the labor and the drudgery—and, yes, the occasional magic—of child-rearing, I felt as if the edges of my body were being erased. I missed solitude. I missed the beckoning, empty rooms of my mind. So I started writing again, waking before dawn each morning to get an hour or so of reading and writing in before the kids woke. At that time, I’d have said, “I write,” but would not have called myself a writer. Writing was a means of keeping my boundaries intact, of preserving a self amid the obliteration of motherhood.”
Worth Reading: Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
I mentioned this was on my nightstand in the last issue, and update: it was so wonderful! I sort of balked at the plotline (down-and-out Lillian is called upon by her old, disloyal friend Madison to care for Madison’s two stepkids over the summer—who oddly burst into flames at any given moment), but I was quickly hooked by the quirky characters and a novel that has a whole lot of heart.
Buy: Bookshop.org // Amazon
Currently on my nightstand: If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha, The Right to Write by Julia Cameron, and Rising Strong by Brene Brown (yes, still).
Worth Listening: About Time
As they say, time is the most precious resource we have—and two recent episodes from the Ten Percent Happier podcast address just that: How to Do Nothing with Jenny Odell and A New Way to Think About Your Time with Ashley Whillans. Both of these interviews really got me thinking about how I spend my time, and the ways we can more thoughtfully navigate the lost minutes of our lives.
Worth Baking: Double Chocolate Cookies, Two Ways
I can’t exactly remember what compelled me to bake two different types of double chocolate cookies in the span of a week, but here we are! The first, Ganache-Stuffed Cosmic Brownie Cookies (pictured above) from Love & Olive Oil, may have won me over because of their irresistible nostalgia factor. These are definitely labor intensive, but they are also so, so delicious. If you like a project, this recipe is a winner.
The second, Flourless Chocolate Cookies from Hummingbird High, are about as easy as a cookie recipe gets: the batter (and it is more of a batter than dough) is ready in under 5 minutes, and the cookies are done in under 45 minutes, most of which is critical cooling time. I made two batches in less than 24 hours, if that tells you anything.
Worth Spending: Gifts for the Grieving
There has been a lot of grieving this year—in both big ways and small; if I could do one thing differently it would be to reach out more to the people in my life. This list of ideas to support friends and family during hard times has a lot of great ideas—and while grander gestures are wonderful, a snail-mail card with an “I’m thinking of you” attached is often enough—we just have to make the time.
I would also add this book, which is so comforting in the midst of grief, and these thoughtful candles, which can be personalized with your own message right on the candle’s label—a reminder of your support each time the giftee lights it.
Worth Quoting: Deepak Chopra
“I am complete but not finished.”
Worth Noting: This Week’s Honorable Mentions
Have you ever chatted with your inner child? (The Sunday Soother)
Op-Docs are captivating. (NYT)
A thread if you’re looking for a new podcast. (The Bello Collective)
Tiny Vacations (Evil Witches - such a fun + funny newsletter for moms!)
A pasta water hack. (Dinner: A Love Story)
Viennetta is being revived! (Eater)
Make this Greek sheet pan dinner + these crispy Belgian waffles (double if making for more than two). (Half Baked Harvest)
Ted Lasso’s biscuit recipe! (Salt Harvest Creatives)
Revenge Bedtime Procrastination feels very, very relatable. (Glamour)
29 Candles from Black-Owned Businesses (The Strategist)