9/13/14, Day 14,011 (Mercena Day 29): Salsa Verde; or, Her First Real Smile (Maybe)
I have wept from eating the perfect grits.
Heather and I were in Philadelphia, and somewhere on like 9th and South, we had these sage grits (I don’t remember the name of the restaurant) that were so good, I realized I would never have grits this good again, even if I ordered another plate right then and there.
When food is good enough to make you feel the keen edge of the brevity of life, you know you’re having a good meal.
And so it was when Heather made the perfect tomatillo salsa yesterday, so good each bite made me realize I as one bit closer to the end of salsa verde and all things.
It was an emotional day. We’re trying to help Mercena settle into a pattern of eat, activity and sleep; not so much a schedule, as an order to things that will hep us evolve towards a schedule. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, and it’s hard to know when to follow the pattern (outlined in the book The Baby Whisperer) and when to break the pattern and follow our instincts. That constant uncertainty is a special kind of grind.
It all paid off when, after soothing her from a fussy stretch, she mirrored my expression and gave me what may have been her first real smile. Probably not: they’re all reflex smiles until usually six to eight weeks. But it was enough to make me burst into grateful tears for this perfect little human and the best salsa verde I’ll ever know.
9/14/14, Day 14,012 (Mercena Day 30): First Flux Sunday as Father
It wasn’t Mercena’s first Flux Sunday, though I am excited for that inevitable day. It was my first Flux Sunday as a Dad, however, and though I was back in action a little earlier than I would have liked, it was wonderful to be back making work again. I’ll write more about it on the Flux Blog, but I was personally very happy with how my two new plays, KD and The Band and the newest untitled play both read.
More on all of this anon, but I’m trying a speedy update after a busy day to get to bed before midnight or whenever Mercena wakes up next…
Technique never stands still: it only advances or retreats…
Writing: 143 out of 180 days (Untitled new play and rewrite of KD and The Band)
Spanish: 130 out of 180 days
Music: 48 out of 86 days
What small things did I do the past two days to help build the Honeycomb?
(And what does it mean to “Help build the honeycomb?”)
- Ate and cooked local, organic, vegetarian food (and composted our food waste), and used cloth diapers for Mercena;
- Asked my Senators to make November 1 National Bison Day in honor of their recovery;
- Asked NYC to make public transit free for climate riders during the Climate Rally on 9/21.
Corinna Schulenburg 