Have you seen this book?

I like it. Along with a similar book, The Art of Noticing by Rob Walker. (See his Substack. It’s a favorite of mine.) If you know of other such books, please say so in the comments.

Today, after taking three dogs to the vet, voting in a local run-off election, taking my dad to the doctor, going across town to see my husband’s new work place and getting the grocery shopping done, picking up a box of Christmas, and putting gas in the car, I got to sit in the big chair by our front window, eat a tasty salad, drink coffee, and read. (Coffee and salad may not be the best combo but I do what I want.) Holiday lights sparkled overhead. Dogs dozed nearby. It was a perfect moment.

One suggestion in this Do/Interesting book is to write a blog. Well, how ’bout that?

Look, I have not been my best self for a while now. I’ve been struggling with my writing and art, making almost nothing new for months. And then I get caught on that cycle (maybe you relate?) of not-doing-the-thing which depresses me so I don’t-do-the-thing. Since no one can fix this problem for me, I have to do that myself. Here’s where I start.

One blog post at a time.

Or more specifically, weeknotes, something Davies writes about in his book. (Also, see Giles Turnbull.) Ultimately, this may just be for me, but that’s okay.

Weeknotes

This week was rough because we came back to work after the holiday break, and I’d said goodbye to our beloved Sadie. I wanted to talk about it, but I didn’t want to cry at work, so I told only two people.

I had a moment with a student that frustrated me because I could see her giving up on trying to understand the instructions for the assignment, and I very much wanted her to keep trying. We finally got there, but then I worried I’d tried too hard, made her feel picked on, but I hope she saw that if she pushed a bit more, she’d see she could get it. It’s a tough place–push enough but not too much. Maybe you had teachers get this wrong? Maybe they didn’t want to.

I haven’t gotten used to Sadie being gone. I want her to be eating her food and sleeping doorways. I want to hear her bark when dinner has taken to long to be served. I dreamed last night that Sadie was here and I gave her a hug. I don’t remember any dream in which I could feel so strongly something to the touch. When waking, it was startling to remember she was gone. Have you ever had such a dream?

That’s enough for this week. Next week, we’ll see how it goes. I’ll write in spite of myself!

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Thanks for reading!