I’m emerging out of a flu fugue into the month of my second child’s birth. I’ve come to expect the months of my first two children’s birthdays to feel a little rocky. There’s a rawness and a slight terror humming under me, until I remember, oh yes, that happened, but I’m here, we made it and everyone is fine, it was FIVE YEARS AGO. Then I can put it to rest until it sneaks up again. This is how the light looks in April, this is what the trees do in April, this is how the ground feels in April, this is how my body remembers in April.

Anyway, here are a few other things I’ve been into/spending time on/thinking about lately.

1. In addition to being month in which I gave birth, April is also our anniversary month in Lancaster. We closed on our Lime Street house at the end of March 2016 and moved a few weeks later. We’ve now been here for a decade. Despite my chronic hosting anxiety, I am toying with the idea of throwing an anniversary party. I’m curious if you’ve ever celebrated your anniversary with a place. If you have, I want to hear about it! How would you design an anniversary observance with something that isn’t a person?

2. I made a syllabus for myself for the year and posted it on my long-abandoned personal website. Nothing major, just some guiding texts I’ll post more about as I go. I’ve also been posting notes and photos from my hive checks there so I have them to reference in the future. I’ve wanted to start posting there again since the Bring Back Blogging project a few years ago, but was just not in the place to participate then. It feels good though, and the goals of the project are timeless and perhaps more timely than ever. I still believe this is the best way to read the internet.

3. I finished Lonesome Dove last week. The story, the characters, the places — all so vivid. One of my attentional practices for the year is to read exceptionally long books (we’ll see how that goes), but I wasn’t eager to finish it. I knew I’d miss my cowboy friends as soon as it was over, and I do. A lot.

4. Mary Jane sneakers. I realized after committing to some Charlotte Stone velcro sneakers a couple years ago that one of the ways I like to feel when dressing is like a chic clown. For some reason Mary Jane sneakers fall into this category to me, I cannot explain. I’m considering a pair of Adidas Samba Janes or Sorel Kinetic Impact II MJ.

5. Hold up a dime, ask me to give it my full attention. I recently finished an Attention Activism 101 course via the Strother School of Radical Attention, the school associated with the authors of Attensity: A Manifesto of the Attention Liberation Movement. This excerpt argues for a broader definition of attention, getting at a more expansive sense of what has been lost than just a “span.” If you have thoughts or ideas about this and want to chat, I’d love to hear from you. There are a handful of local folks who have read/are reading Attensity. Let me know if you’re one of them (whether you’re local or not)!

Stay hydrated,

Lisa

Quote credit: Corita Kent