If you’ve been with us over the years, there have been many variations of this sort of writing - sharing the in-between moments, thoughts that have been flowing like a constant rumbling of a car engine. You don’t even notice it’s the very thing that got you from one place to another until the jarring quiet when the car’s stopped. Background noise at times, but essential nonetheless. Maybe we’ve been too ambitious in the past - wanting to write longform essays while growing a business, raising our littles, caring for our families; the sitting and reflecting couldn’t keep up with the going that needed to happen.
If there’s anything that unites us to one another, they’re moments where an, oh gosh, you too? is exchanged, whether in anguish or excitement. It’s always been the reason we wanted to write, to preserve stories worth remembering only to perhaps ignite something that makes us feel unalone, understood. Love, pain, togetherness, loss - the notes in our chorus of humanity. So here we are again,thoughts and musings in pursuit of connection.
On love. We took a trip to Monterey to end the year. Any parent knows that you don’t commit to the trip with littles to come back rested. The rhythms shift, the kids still want snacks, the shoe has a hole, the window’s too big for the blackout curtain. What I’m reminded of after every trip, near or far, is that we’ll never allow ourselves the fullness of the experience with fantasized expectations. Yes, take the picture. Not for the curated squares, but to remember the fleeting in-between moments that make a little extra room for love to extend her roots; the sheer delight in experiencing wind in their faces, together. Being in awe of creation, together. Did you feel that, too? Did you see that, too? Snap the photo to remember how they’re choosing one another despite being worlds apart in understanding. Whatever form love and togetherness take for you this month, I hope it’s found in its simplest essence, lessons I’m taking from observing a 22 month old and 7 year old.
Till next time,
Pat
