You know how Spotify, at the end of the year, tells you what your “most listened to” song was? It’s February 1st, but I can guarantee you that, come December, it will certainly report that my most-listened-to song of 2023 was “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift.
It’s not because I’m a giant Taylor Swift fan. I like her an average amount. It’s not because there’s something extraordinary about that song. It’s fun to dance to, but I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece.
It’s because it has the perfect beat for me to run a 12-minute mile.
I am not a great runner, if that wasn’t clear from how long it takes me to run a mile.
But I am a great beat-keeper.
I blame high school band. Whenever we moved together, whether it be in a parade or on the football field at half-time, the cadence coming from the percussion section unified all our feet. Every drumbeat was an earthquake we felt through our bodies, shaking us to move one foot, then the other, then the other again. It was automatic and uncontrollable.
When the cymbal crash starts “Shake It Off,” that muscle memory starts, too. My feet fall in line just like they did when the percussion line played their marching cadence. And then I don’t think about how tired I am, how much I don’t want to be running, how I can’t wait until the odometer on the treadmill finally reaches 2.0 and I feel accomplished enough that I can go back to walking.
I don’t think about anything. So long as I make sure the song is on repeat, I just let my body do the work and let the number of plays rack up.
It might have been 3 degrees in this picture, but you can’t deny the beauty of a sunrise and snow
If we believe in equality and inclusivity, it’s incumbent we create space early in kids’ development to experiment, experience and grow outside of narrow labels. For me and my son in that Target, these labels raised questions on why we separate genders in the first place and the ways this separation impacts how each of us sees the world.
- Avni Shah, “My Son Asked For Minnie Mouse Underwear And I Realized We Have a Big Problem”
BIG NEWS - My old writing prof got a book published! Check out The Dream Builders.
Saw this at my gym. I call it “Fish Out of Water.”
For artist moms, what we feel is guilt’s crueler twin: shame. This is because so often our art doesn’t earn us a living, yet the pull to leave the kiddos with a babysitter so we can sneak away to steal a few hours of writing or drawing time at Starbucks can feel just as strong.
- Reannon Muth, “Art and Motherhood: Is There Really a Way to Do Both?”
Any other moms out there feel totally vindicated by Marie Kondo admitting she doesn’t take the time to “Tidy Up” anymore? 🙋♀️
I haven’t pulled an Oracle card in five months, but it’s just a bit too coincidental that today I pulled St. Shirley, my author soulmate. Domestic pleasures - Domestic horrors
That’s rather appropriate for today’s newsletter, too, with all the motherhood articles.
Here comes another.
No one wants to know that after your mother finally placed you in your crib, she walked out of the room and screamed into a blanket, or cried in the bathroom, or drank a bottle of wine, or all of the above. No one wants to know that as she rocked you and sang you the tenth lullaby of the night, she was fantasizing about putting you down, walking out the door, and never coming back. A mother’s heroic journey is not about how she leaves, but about how she stays.
- Jessi Klein, I’ll Show Myself Out
I’m listening to Klein’s audiobook right now, and it’s thoughtful and hilarious, and she’s great at reading her own prose. I’m picky about my audiobooks, but Jessi is the perfect narrator. Highly recommend.
My kid bought “stuffy sized party hats” at her school store this week, and Monkey is definitely here for it (as am I).
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