In Everyday Eroticism I am asking, what turns you on about your LIFE? Maybe these are the juicy moments, the real definition of stopping to smell the roses, or maybe they are belly laughs. Sometimes life isn’t all sunshine and maybe your Everyday Eroticism is a moment of pride or a small but seismic adjustment in perspective. These moments are the pearls of our lives and if you string them together, what a treasure to keep! I can promise you this, since I’ve been writing my Everyday Eroticisms I am able to look back at the pearls of each past month with exponentially more pride and love than simply relying on memory alone. I encourage you to give it a try, you may just be surprised how much more you value the time you’ve spent.
Here are some of my little Everyday Eroticisms for August:
- Our neighborhood fruit exchange: I adore my neighborhood. My neighbors are… neighborly. What a concept! These days while walking I often come across baskets of plums, oranges, lemons, passionfruit and pluots. Whatever may be in season can often be found with a note that invites us to “Enjoy!” Such a treat. This month my neighbor across the street brought over a jar of her homemade plum jelly. I haven’t had jelly this wonderful since my late grandmother’s famous pomegranate preserves, a true labor of love. I hear there may be a stray jar hiding in a cousin’s pantry and when it comes to this heirloom we all become pirates. My fig tree is in full production so I felt inspired to share the neighborly love by gifting a few loaves of fresh fig bread along with bags of fresh ripe figs.
- Endless summer bubbles: My daughter has a little bubble obsession, the kind that would result in a meltdown if the solution spilled or playtime was over. Upon discovering spill-proof bubbles however I bought an entire case and decided to let her have a summer of endless bubbles with the hope of flushing the obsession out. At any point in time we have bubbles in most rooms of the house and by now Miss Milla can happily go on with her day leaving her bubbles in the car for later or sharing them on the playground. Praise the heavens. (Parents: if you haven’t discovered Fubbles yet, this will make your day)
- Childhood deja vu: While in the car Knox loves to make the vroom vroom sounds of a racecar shifting gears. When I join in on the fun he peals out with laughter and I enjoy a flash of deja vu of my late mother doing the exact same sounds with me. I even called my brother to confirm.
- Growing up is hard to do: This week I dropped my kids off at preschool for the very first time. They didn’t cling or cry, instead running off without a backwards glance. I burst into tears, even while knowing that they were happy and that the half-day would pass in the blink of an eye. Watching my children grow up is one of the most beautiful and most painful things I have ever experienced.
- The Birds: Late one evening my husband runs into the house from the garage in full panic. Apparently he had been putting laundry into the washer when he noticed flapping out of the corner of his eye… Only to look up and see our chickens roosting on the light hanging above his head triggering his bird phobia. Bwahahaha. Can you find them in this photo? Read more about our chickens in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
- Overcoming: August has been a really challenging month. My husband had abdominal surgery and not only did I need to care for him in addition to the twins but even upon feeling better he was unable to pick up a child for 3 weeks. At first blush that may not seem like a big deal but when you think about transport in and out of cribs from sleeptime and naptime, ups and downs from booster seats at meal times, lifting in and out of car seats, swings, etc. or even pick up from the occasional tantrum lying down in the middle of the street, it really adds up. As mom, not only was I basically on house arrest save for outings including my 2 copilots and a choice hour here or there, I also managed to throw my neck out while lifting my 40lb son. Being the rock of the household was just plain hard. I’d find a window of time during naptime to sprint to a yoga class only to get stuck behind a fender bender, so I’d turn around and do a YouTube session in my backyard. I’d get the thumbs up from my hubs to squeeze in a morning bootcamp session only to find my driveway blocked in by street paving and then squeeze out to then notice my husband’s gas tank in the pit of E with no form of payment in hard. I pulled over, sprinted the fastest block of my life to and from home to grab my credit card, got gas and made it to the class. Was Mercury in retrograde? I don’t know but this month I really had to work for it and now on the other side I find myself full of pride for getting it done especially while the going was tough. I couldn’t have gotten through this month without our incredible friends and family who all came ‘round to help.
- Grabbing a late night glass of wine with a friend after twin bedtime. Good girlfriends are as critical to life as water.
- Viva La Fiesta! Taking the kiddos to their first parade and watching Knox neighing at each passing horse.
- Enjoying a little summer pleasure reading: This month I started with The Vacationers and am now halfway through Michelle Obama’s Becoming.
When you look back at August and how you spent your time, what moments do you want to hold close?
Previous editions:
Everyday Eroticism – July
Everyday Eroticism – June
MerWoman 