Emergency Room
On your insides. A couple of cops walked by. I saw them through an opening in the patterned curtain that distinguished the place we were sitting as a room,...
Air Quality Index
On smoke. I hate the sepia sky, the Evangelion-ass sunsets. On Tuesday, sitting at my desk, I noticed the light suddenly change. That eerie orange glow, the...
Fireworks
On desultory things. Is that thunder, you said about the far-flung drumroll as we were traipsing up the hill to your parents’ house through the soupy night,...
Tornado Watch
On the odds. It’s just that conditions are right, a colleague helpfully reminded everyone on the call. No need to panic. The wind picked up, but the sun was...
Tree Pollen
On regenerating. I tried to take a picture of it—all the little white puffs falling from the tree in a steady, endless stream, like rain. But you know what...
Microwaved Steak for Lunch
On leftovers. I had this moment—I had to laugh—looking down at my plate and wondering if I should have done it better. Unevenly warmed-over slices of meat, a...
Birdwatching (Again, For Real This Time)
On appreciating the little things. The four of us were standing there, binoculars out, locked in. Of course, a group so singularly focused drew the attention...
Bubble Tea
On generosity. Spring, this year, has come in fits and starts. Out there barelegged one day and pinning my jacket against the cold the next. Photo by Andrea...
Gusts Up to 30 MPH
On feeling exposed. The wind hit me crossways as I biked over the bridge and, suddenly, despite all my best efforts, I was pedaling through molasses....
The Longfellow Bridge
On Boston’s best view. Dearest Enthusiasms readers: Apologies for my extended, partly accidental absence! I am realizing now I had one failed send (wtf,...
What We See from Here
On moon joy. Before this week’s Enthusiasms, a note: This morning, ICE abducted one of my neighbors from outside their home, leaving their wife behind—a...
Rocket Launch
On how your email finds me. My husband was genuinely excited. I worried it was an opportunity to introduce our son to some generation-defining trauma. At...
St. Patrick's Day
On the inescapable. Hey chat! Here’s a bonus Enthusiasms this week, on account of me fucking up in prior weeks and not hitting “send.” <3 J — Several floors...
Sour Patch Kids
On temptation. Here at Enthusiasms HQ, we only just realized last week’s email didn’t get sent—what the hell! We apologize for our oversight, but the good...
Record-Breaking
On the highs today. 74 degrees and sunny. I didn’t really believe it, so in the morning I put on a pair of tights and by the afternoon, regretted it. Photo...
Snow
On the known unknowns. Hi, everybody! Over here at Enthusiasms, Inc. we are simply hanging on by a thread this week. (Walking around the house muttering this...
Cleaning the Fridge
On cruel things. Death comes for someone it shouldn’t have. How is it not a mistake? It’s the kind of stuff that makes everything else feel like a waste....
Lifting Weights
On maintenance. How is it I haven’t written about this yet? Four years ago now, I started lifting weights and I’ve kept at it—barring the occasional illness...
Melting
On hope. I read somewhere that this is the coldest winter we’ve had in decades; I certainly can’t recall another year, since 2015, that the snow stuck around...
Phlegm
On coughing it up. Is it weird I kind of like the way it tastes?, I asked my husband, letting a freshly hawked-up bit of mucus rest in my mouth like some...
