grapefruit jam

January 7, 2017 By gwynyth

In Search Of

I did the weirdest thing this morning. At ten o’clock, in below zero temps, I found myself meeting up with eight strangers in a parking lot to go for a walk.

See, my husband had noticed a women’s post on a neighbourhood Facebook group inviting other women in the area to join her in her resolution to get off the screens, connect face to face with her community and get a little exercise. She set up a private group to set the details, so although the Sherlock watching part of my brain was going on about serial killer plots, my more rational brain was pretty sure it would all be ok. Plus we were right beside an open cafe on a busy street, so.

Going outside in the freezing cold and making small talk with strangers is so very out of character for me. I was almost certain I would bail at the last minute but ultimately felt compelled to see it through. Why?

I was so taken by this women’s brave vulnerability in putting herself out there like that. It’s easy for us to stay in our work/home/close friends/internet bubble, but she went for it anyway. I didn’t like to think of her standing out there alone if everyone chickened out.

The amount of people who responded was incredible. Although only eight of over fifty who responded showed up, the sentiment was heartwarming. It seems there are a lot of people who are looking for more connection in their community. For better or worse, in a city where we often shuffle past each other with our heads down, eyes averted or glued to a screen, maybe social media is the most effective vehicle for creating it.

The biggest draw though was sheer curiosity. Would anyone actually show up? What would the random sampling of people be like? Would it feel awkward and clunky to chat and walk together for an hour? Is it really that bad to feel a little awkward and clunky from time to time?

I am happy to report there was no obvious serial killer plot, everyone was cheerful, open and kind and I was left with the reminder that no group of people is all that random (insert inspirational we are all one quote here).

Whether or not I continue to trek out in the cold with my neighbours, I’m glad I went with my impulse this morning. It’s the beginning of my own New Year’s theme: to follow the trail of curiosity. To ask with a playful spirit, what if? and why not? And see where it leads.

July 24, 2016 By gwynyth

Time Travel

I recently finished ‘I’ll Give You The Sun’ by Jandy Nelson. It’s a beautiful book, emotionally gutting, but also one that had me laughing alone in the car and checking out with headphones as I folded laundry or scrubbed the kitchen (audiobooks are a Mom’s best friend). There may have been a time that I would have been embarrassed to tell you that this is a YA novel. What business does a thirty-two year old have falling into the story of sixteen year olds?

Around the same time I read this, someone prompted me to remember what I was doing, what life was like as a sixteen/seventeen year old. The contradictory feelings of freedom and constriction, sureness and insecurity, feelings of being on the cliff edge of life almost ready to take off- all came flooding back.

It’s easy to forget the previous incarnations of ourselves as life chugs along. We slip off a few things, add more layers, sometimes carelessly, sometimes with intention. But I love going back and revisiting those years. Not always the moments in my own life, but the general atmosphere of that transitional time. Going back through the eyes of a character is like getting a re-do, or seeing another way it all could have played out. Reading YA takes us back into the intense emotion of those teen years and allows us access to a softer more understanding connection with the younger folks in our lives.

I don’t remember YA being a thing when I was a teenager. My YA was assigned high school Shakespeare and historical fiction or memoir like Elie Wiesel’s incredible ‘Night’. In my early teen years I had Tank Girl comics and Francesca Lia Block’s Weetzie Bat, but later it was more heartbreaking memoir and everything Tom Robbins. I think Young Adults are so lucky to have an abundance of options today holding up mirrors to their lives.

There is a growing trend of adults reading YA, I am certainly not the only one! I think we all kind of want to fill in that gap now that we’ve got the chance. It’s soul soothing reading to your inner child, seeing the world from that fresh vantage point. It is thrilling to go back and feel the weight of the world, how real those struggles were, feel that big blank slate ahead and remember that the conditions and responsibilities of our lives may have changed, but we can still carry that passion and inventiveness into our grown-up lives. I’ll read YA unabashedly to dip into that blindingly fresh world of possibility to remember.

***

How about you? Do you read YA? Any Favourites to recommend?

April 4, 2016 By gwynyth

Dear Morning*

* playing along today with Susannah Conway’s April Love prompt.

I want to stretch the hour of coffee and notebook all cozied up together in the big arm chair. That beautiful moment in time (didn’t Winnie-the-Pooh say?) when there’s a whole day ahead of you, but it doesn’t have to start just yet.

There is snow on the ground, on the trees, covering the car again. I gave in the moment I lifted the blind today.

They’re snacking on sugary cereal and watching cartoons- one of my favourite versions of morning as a kid. We’ll get around to the day eventually. The magic of this hour inevitably wears off even if I could stay here stuck to the chair all day, because,

Mom! There’s snow!

They’ll want to push it around. There’s real breakfast to make, another chapter in our lesson plans, math to be done.

Making bricks in Ancient Mesopotamia

I just saw a spider drop down a line on this side of the window. What kind of sign is that? I’ll take it to mean it’s a weaving day, a day of graceful work, a reminder to enjoy the miracle of everydayness.

There’s a loose tooth, a house made cozy by a cleaning day undone, the promise of a quiet afternoon ahead to choose again from the menu of solitude treats.