Headed to the beach? Don't forget your existential crisis! 🌊
Did a friend forward this to you?
Every summer, there comes a point when I walk outside and feel panic settle over me, as heavy and suffocating as the humidity that blankets Wilmington. It's July, I realize. Summer is sprinting by, and what do I have to show for it?
I live in a beach town, a place other people visit when they want to slow down and relax, slip effortlessly into vacation mode while sipping something cold. You'd think that would mean I'm on a permanent vacation, but you'd be wrong! When you live in a summer destination, you tend to avoid the most popular spots. The beach is crowded, the best restaurants have long waits, and traffic is a constant ugly snarl that extends from the river to the sea. Plus I still have to go to work, and buy groceries, and clean my house. The beach may be less than eight miles from my door, but getting there is another story. (The one-two combination of broken collarbone and sprained ankle hasn't helped much, either.)
Thus, the panic. The feeling that I'm running out of time and wasting my one wild and precious life. I'll never get to the beach, or kayak to my favorite island, or get a tan, or publish a novel, or make enough money, or visit Italy, or finish reading the pile of books on my bedside table. Because nothing says summer like a good existential spiral!
This is one of the reasons I dislike New Year's Eve, and 30-Under-30 lists, and the climate crisis. There's so much pressure to DO SOMETHING and BE SOMEONE and ACCOMPLISH THINGS, and all according to some arbitrary calendar or irrelevant timeline. (Well, except for climate change - that one is pretty relevant.) But here's the thing - there's no expiration date on your hopes and dreams! I didn't publish a novel in my 20s, and that's probably a good thing. It would have been terrible. I bought my first house at 36, and I'm glad we waited - owning a house is a big responsibility! This past Friday night, we stayed in and watched Chasing the Moon on PBS, and it was exactly what I needed.
Which is a long-winded way of saying my timeline is doing just fine, and there are a hundred ways to get to where you need to be.
Here's the best part: in North Carolina, summer lasts until at least October. The best time to go to the beach is September, after the tourists have gone home. The water that laps at the shore is warm, and there's plenty of room on the sand for a towel, an umbrella, a beer. We may not have all the time in the world, but we have more than we think. 💛
🌸 Plant of the Week 🌸
Snacks have been a bit harder this week, thanks to my plastic-free challenge, so let's look at some pretty plants! This is my nerve plant, also called fittonia. It was one of the first houseplants I bought, and I chose it mostly for the pretty pink veins in its leaves. It's grown quite a bit since I brought it home but I keep moving it around the house, trying to find the perfect spot that will keep it from getting too leggy. Plants! They're so demanding!
Good Reads
In the Future, Everything Will Be Made of Chickpeas, The Atlantic. I kept holding my breath for the part where the writer reveals that chickpeas are a problematic fave, and it never came! All hail the mighty chickpea! ✌️
Plant Parenthood, The Baffler. "Just as Instagram makes us feel as if our lives, our bodies, and our friendships are inadequate, so too does it make us feel that we are bad plant parents because our plants aren’t in picture-perfect shape, pristinely arranged around a tasteful side table." 🌱
The Myth of the "One Thing" That Will Change Your Life, ManRepeller. "We want to change; we want to be good, better, best. We see our lives spooling out before us and think: This can’t be it, can it? I won’t always be this lazy/unloved/bad at contouring, will I? There must be a way to improve—and surely it can’t be as difficult, or as boring, as hard work and time." 💫
A Tiny Challenge
I'm usually pretty immune to inspirational quotes shared on Instagram, but I came across a good one the other day. "If it won't matter in five years, don't spend more than five minutes worrying about it." This week, let's stop wasting time on things that don't matter, and spend our energy in service of things that do and might and will.
See you next Sunday! 💌
