Sunshine Orange
This entry started life as an Instagram post, then I remembered that I’d wanted to start writing regularly again and I was doing it, just not where I would see it and count it. So, here we are.
TL;DR: I’m super glad I have a garden and that I made myself go to it today. Also #marisolthesubaru is the same color as a perfectly ripe sun gold.
This week has just been a lot. ER with J Monday, in the middle of turn-over-the-keys moving day. Multiple full-body applications per day of both heavy duty lotion and steroid cream to a particularly nasty case of poison oak or ivy or something, with no visible resolution, and his dominant hand looking like it may explode from the swelling. A self-care appointment I only have once a month and social plans involving ice cream had to be put off for a visit to his doctor’s office, during which I didn’t manage to keep my game face on entirely and maybe let it slip that I’m a human and feel impotent and helpless when I can’t fix everything for J. Then a fucking wasp queen decides to hold court in MY kitchen.
:deep breath:
Other things that have also happened or been true: I talked with Rich about housing the ECC library and finishing up the cataloging job, so “my” library will be a completed project before I am officially done volunteering there for the duration of school. I spent time with lovely people eating good food, watching fun TV, playing/watching people play tabletop games, and discussed gender-y things and feelings-y things and life things. I saw Jupiter and 3 (maybe 4 but not certain) of its moons through my telescope from my living room. My sister got a promotion she’s really excited about. Our new home allows for us to have both internet service and a WiFi router that should mean no more frustration for work or play. I harvested the first tomatoes from my garden (which are really my primary focus there if I’m being honest). I had my first meeting with a financial coach and am excited rather than dreading our work together.
Gardening and stargazing both have the potential to give me perspective when I need it most. While I’ve always been in general awe of our natural world, I hadn’t dug deep (if you’ll pardon the pun) into what it means to be a part of it until I had a garden, and I couldn’t truly appreciate the vastness of it until I had a telescope.
And you know, this is a complete derailment but both of those things, I got from Southern Maine Community College.
I am so excited about my acceptance to and upcoming time studying at Mount Holyoke. But especially now that I’ve connected those real-life ways SMCC has informed the way I exist in the world, I’ll never forget or lose sight of how truly priceless experience there has been.
