Soul Snacks : Volume 19

 

“We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.”

Anais Nin

 

I begin most days with cereal. Into a ravenous bowl go raw oats, a scattering of wheat flakes, a bit of granola, flax seeds, walnuts, and fresh fruit. Fruit that is not always sweet, but juicy and colorful just the same. I’ve come to love the flavor of almond milk (a pleasant surprise), flooding my vessel, allowing discs of banana and plump berries to float like little rafts in a child’s pool. It’s a nice way to begin the day. Because we meal prep on Sundays,  I wake up each weekday knowing that breakfast is basically ready. And should I go so far as to prep coffee the night before, I am golden.

Most days, once breakfast is done, I’ll pack my satchel, fill a thermal carafe with coffee, grab 64 oz. of water (daily recommended amount), and trek sixty-five paces to my studio.

One of the projects we took on when the pandemic hit was to renovate our tool shed into an outdoor studio AKA Quill House. One hundred and twenty square feet of bliss. So far, we use it for writing, for coffee talks, wine talks, zoom meetings, reading and rest. It is quiet, warm, light-filled and inspiring.

Beyond a desk and chair, we’ve outfitted this ultra-cozy space with a slender bookcase, a small cushioned bench, a soft recliner, snuggly blankets, a few throw pillows, and gifts from the kids that add beauty and function. There’s a welcome mat that says hello, and a coat rack where chunky sweaters and book bags call home. Many of my favorite reads line the shelves, and set beneath a tall window in my direct line of vision are stacks of TBR books. This is no accident. To be greeted every morning by authors whose work I have yet to gobble is as thrilling and energizing a feeling as any.

I am crazy for books. Crazy. It’s pretty amazing considering I wasn’t a reader as a kid. In my childhood home, I recall a line of books stretching across a deep-enough shelf in the side-room of our 70’s-styled finished basement. We had a set of encyclopedias, The New Book of Knowledge, which, no doubt, we bought from a door-to-door salesman (very popular back in the day). The encyclopedias sat there forever, most likely perused just a handful of times. There was also a small set of YA hardcovers situated at the end of the row. I remember trying, on many occasions, to get into one, but never quite making it through. It wasn’t until I became a mama that I fell in love with reading. I actually remember the very moment that Cupid’s arrow hit; where I was sitting and the book that would change my life forever…

Sometimes, for a change of scenery, we’d pack up our toddler-girls, and head out to do some shopping. On this particular voyage, I had to hang back in the minivan with the kids. As Lucy fell asleep, in true Lucy-fashion, and Chels, content to investigate her surroundings, crawling on me and the bench between, sharing little toys and cheerios with her mama, I had a quiet moment. I opened John Grisham’s book, The Firm, and the rest, as they say, is history. Do you remember The Firm? Early ’90’s? It made an impression on me. I remember thinking, where have you been all my life?

So there you have it – the beginning of a beautiful friendship…

When I put pen to paper to compose this post, I had no idea where it would go, but, like always, I was open to following its lead.

How curvy a ride this train of thought has been.

From this morning’s oats, to my childhood home, and a few stops in between.

With pen in hand, I will board this train again.

Stay warm, my friends.

Annie

XO