Things have been pretty awful, and yet I’m still reading.
I think that in dark places, the most rebellious thing you can do is create moments of joy. And maybe that’s where my focus has been lately.
I’m building a fairy garden for my daughter. When the world feels bleak, I add to the fairy garden. I threw seeds at a very small rectangle at first and my daughter placed all of the fairy garden items she had received for Easter. My partner then pulled up another section, and I threw more seeds at it. But it looked bare, so my daughter and I were absolute menaces at the garden center. We bought three plants for the fairy garden, two for in front of the house, a hanging plant and a pot with a bunch of flowers. Then I ripped up another section and threw more seeds. It entered my brain that it would look really nice if I had a bigger plant next to our gate to the backyard. So I ripped up more and bought more plants.
It’s fully planted now. I have paint to throw on the sidewalk and more to throw on the gate. I also have string lights that I can program with my phone to dance along with music. My partner will be hanging those. And maybe I’ll stencil some fairies and magic onto the sidewalk and gate. I don’t know.
It’s been an unwieldy project, but I’ve got to admit that every time I go out there, I experience a lot of joy. My daughter is constantly asking to go to her fairy garden. She loves to point at the flowers and putting her fairy garden items either back where they belong or in a new place she’s thought up. And I love taking care of these flowers and seeing them surprise me with their growth. I keep being sure that I’ve killed one or two, but with my diligent care, they spring back. It’s a place of great joy, and yes, that feels rebellious.
Reading Social Media News
The TikTok sell-off deadline is coming up again. Color us all shocked that it’s going to be extended again. Like what is the point of the ban? Why is this still going on?
I was recently talking about inclusive marketing to someone and why we need to engage with it. So when I saw this article from HubSpot on the state of inclusive marketing, I had to share it. And it’s all about these stats: “[T]hose who create inclusive advertisements brought in 5% higher short-term sales and 16% higher long-term sales, as well as a 62% higher likelihood of a brand being a customer’s first choice.” Despite what’s going on in the world, it still pays to be inclusive.
Reading Books, Books and More Books
Past
The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett hit me at the right time. It’s a lovely book with a few twists I didn’t see coming. When I say that’s rare, I mean it. I can usually figure out a book quickly. I had no idea what kind of ride this book was going to take me on, and it was enjoyable to have that. But despite that, it didn’t ask anything of me. As I was running to get things done in my life, this book kept calling me back, letting me just be for a time. The perfect book for summer reading. Score: A-
Present
The same friend who recommended The Road to Tender Hearts, also recommended The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. So far, it’s an odd little book with an unlikeable main character. We get to know her through her letters. So even though I know this kind of person, I haven’t gotten a good feel for her quite yet. Maybe that’s part of the genius of it though: We all know this kind of woman so we’re able to fill in the blanks left by the letters. I guess I’ll just have to see.
What are you reading? What books are you looking forward to?