#Reverb 24 – 25 – 26

Day 24 – Everything’s OK. What was the best moment that could serve as proof that everything is going to be alright? And how will you incorporate that discovery into the year ahead? (Author: Kate Inglis)

I am so thankful to live three blocks from what is truly a shitty little mall but which contains all you need, including a liquor store, dollar store, Safeway and questionable sushi. OK I don’t like sushi anyway, but this sushi scares me more because it’s next to the “Royal Regina Restaurant,” which sells mostly shepherd’s pie that looks about six years old. There is also a fruit and vegetable market if you feel like buying some celery without braving the millions of people fighting over celery in the Safeway.

I walked over to this little mall on Friday (Christmas Eve) while Trombone was having his Quiet Time and Fresco was having his Shoulder Nap on SA’s shoulder (and my shoulder cried with relief, as an almost-three-year-old sleeping on your shoulder *will* put a cramp in your style no matter how you crack it, but napping is better than no napping) and bought some last minute things and then I walked home, past all the cars waiting to turn into the parking lot, through bumper to bumper traffic, and it was raining because this is the West Coast, and raindrops fell on my nose and eyelashes and my black, cloth shopping bags were slung over my shoulder and I had a music player to listen to while I walked and I thought yes. This is good. This peace and quiet, just on the brink of excitement. A few minutes to be inside my own head and stretch out on my brain sofa.

You don’t have a brain sofa? Oh. I do.

I feel this “it’s OK” feeling almost every day. I also feel its counterpoint, “yeah, no it’s not!” almost every day. So, we move on.

Day 25 – Photo – a present to yourself. Sift through all the photos of you from the past year. Choose one that best captures you; either who you are, or who you strive to be. Find the shot of you that is worth a thousand words. Share the image, who shot it, where, and what it best reveals about you. (Author: Tracey Clark)

As one of the parents in this house, I take a lot of pictures. Almost all the pictures. SA takes pictures of his beer, and I take pictures of everything else, including me. Most of the shots of me, then, are either shot from as far away as my arm, or are great studies of our downstairs bathroom.

All of which photos are The Awesome Hotness, of course, or I would delete them, but none of which really spoke to me for this exercise.

Oh except the one that SA is taking of me right now while I type one-handed with Fresco asleep on my chest.

This photo below, I love. Fresco and I took it together; I gave him the camera to hold and helped him aim and he did the “one two three say cheese” part and the actual button pressing. We were in Penticton, at my aunt and uncle’s anniversary party, sitting on the lawn outside the church.

I like how I am folded into the frame. I think my face reflects how my kids see me, not the way I pose for myself, for profile photos. I strive to be that genuine, that unselfconscious, that bendable, in all areas of my life.

day 26 : Soul food. What did you eat this year that you will never forget? What went into your mouth & touched your soul? (Author: Elise Marie Collins)

Uh. What went into my mouth and touched my *soul*? That just doesn’t seem right.

The thing about me and food is, I have specific cravings. If I satisfy the craving, the food touches my soul. Or at least makes some wind that eventually touches my soul. Mouth / soul butterfly effect. If I don’t satisfy the craving, the food is still good and I still eat it, but it’s more for making my body continue living than for making my soul do any dancing.

These foods spring to mind:

My mom’s lasagna, which is the best lasagna on the planet.

Homemade pizza with caramelized onions, bacon and mushrooms.

Long pasta with olive oil / garlic sauce. (Aglio e Olio)

Fresh basil.

And popcorn. With lots of butter. And salt.

And – snacktime.