May - Mini Musing
Brisk air, cheap parking, and sweet potatoes
My musing this month has been on attempting to find delight in the lows and I wrote about it in a piece called, Delight in the Hollers. It’s been a week since the cigar lounge closed and here are a few things I have found delight in since then.
Spring
My friend and I took a walk down Hillhaven to the local coffee shop yesterday and we could see breath manifested in vanishing, white clouds. We remarked on how it has been pretty chilly for May. One of us brought up the fact that last spring was really brisk as well and I mentioned a theory I read recently that the seasons are not any shorter or longer than usual but that the seasons are shifting. Winter doesn’t really seem to kick in until after Christmas and spring doesn’t really end until early to mid June. I have no idea how true this is and you may live in a place where that feels ridiculous but middle Tennessee is notorious for having blurred lines between its seasons. It’s one thing I miss about Indiana, though one could argue through anecdotal evidence of occasionally hunting Easter eggs in the snow to trick or treating in the snow that those seasons are blurred as well. Regardless, we have had a beautiful spring this year and I have found delight in sleeping with the windows open and waking up to the sounds of birds chirping and the cold air on top of my quilt. I woke up this morning and said, “This feels like camping”.
Live Music
I used to see live music about twice a week but I don’t get out as much as I used to. We lived closer to downtown Nashville, the city was easier to navigate, tickets were cheaper, and parking was sometimes free! Post-pandemic Nashville is kind of a nightmare now. I live a good thirty minutes from downtown and driving through the city requires a strategy and parking costs more than the ticket price which have also jumped up. That being said, I miss seeing live shows and so this year I decided that I would try to remedy that. I was able to see Bob Dylan, Willie Watson, and Josh Ritter in the last month and went to a few shows put on by my friends. All of those were life giving in so many different ways. Seeing Dylan was like stepping back in time and witnessing Lincoln give a speech. Willie Watson reminded me that traditional folk music is alive and dynamic and full of spit and vinegar and soul. Josh Ritter reminded me how much I truly love songwriting and how nothing is really off limits. My friends’ shows made me zoom out on our time in Nashville together and take a look at our place in history; I have a feeling that people will be talking about this era of faith based folk music and songwriting in the years to come. It made me proud to be a small piece in this beautiful mosaic of artists.
Naomi
Naomi is our goddaughter and recently just turned seven years old. Her sense of humor is really starting to develop and she cracks me up every time I talk to her. She is growing out of the toddler way of pronouncing words and phrases which I am mourning a little bit. One of my favorite Naomi-isms is combining the phrases, “what the heck” and “what in the world” and the results were, “what the heck in the world?” and Anna and I say that all the time even if Naomi doesn’t anymore. My nickname for her recently has been, “Little Sweet Potato” because she told me last week, with legitimate concern, that she ate so many of them that she was afraid she was going to turn orange. There’s so much delight in that little girl.
I want to know! What is bringing you delight?
