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31 Day Social Media Fast: Day 18

In which I skip out on Instagram and Facebook for the month of March but still allow myself the internet.

Utterly and inexplicably delicious.

This glorious piece of gluten-free toast slathered with molasses and margarine is just one of the beautiful parts about Catapult Coffee & Studio this morning. I find out later that the shop is opened by a Jesus-based ministry, not my favorite, but then there is this: they are living what they preach, which is good, I suppose. I try not to let that bother me – they were so gracious, the coffee was so good, and molasses on toast is probably my new go-to breakfast.

Perhaps that’s just how they lure you in.

Anyway. We loved every part of the shop. The coffee, our toasty goodness, the people, the beautiful handmade tables and other crafts on offer. WWJD? Probably stay and drink his coffee and STFU.

As we were sipping hot coffee in the lovely shop, this man walked in.

Agent de la paix.

The fact that he is a “peace officer” was even more poignant when I stupidly checked my email and saw the front-page article in The New York Times Magazine from Sunday that outlined exactly how (and why) Baltimore City is (possibly irredeemably) so violent and corrupt. Imagine if in Baltimore the police considered themselves keepers of the peace, wore the words like a badge on their chest – how would things be different?

It is a hard thing to reconcile, this magical affair I am having with Saint John and my feelings for Baltimore, the city I call home and the city that increasingly breaks my heart. It’s so easy to stay ignorant of the issues Baltimore faces – I could stay in the white L and ignore the black butterfly. So many people do, and the city makes it so easy for white folks to remain ignorant.

It’s nice to get away (and that’s what the Saint Johnners say – we are from “away”), but as always, wherever you go, there you are.

31 Day Social Media Fast: Day 15

In which I skip out on Instagram and Facebook for the month of March but still allow myself the internet.

March 14, 2019 – a watery day.

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and Creation) there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: The moment that one definitely commits one’s self, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe~

100% this. A theme for the year ahead, perhaps.

31 Day Social Media Fast: Day 14

In which I skip out on Instagram and Facebook for the month of March but still allow myself the internet.

The lovely, boggy swamp near the tiny house’s old parking spot.

It’s my birthday today.

I am one of the wateriest of the Pisces fishes, my birthday coming as it does in the last week of the last sign of the zodiac. I am all of the intensely good things about the Fish and all of the intensely not-so-good things (it’s true).

I love my sign. It’s potentially one of the more annoying things about me, so I try to keep it under wraps to prevent that – except on my birthday. I share the day with Albert Einstein and imagine we have tons in common, and it’s also pi day, which is nerdy and delightful all at once.

Side note: The Child’s birthday is May the Fourth, arguably the second nerdiest birthday of the year. Possibly the first nerdiest.

Yesterday at acupuncture I found out that my heart is excessively warm – the source of anxiety and insomnia and all of the other wicked things that have been swirling around me lately. My lovely yoga teacher and acupuncturist, Martha Rogers, advised oat straw tea and more water both inside and out, which makes sense.

She also said that coffee exacerbated the heat, which is just too bad because my coffee consumption is minimal and a joyous thing and a public service. I am doing it for you people.

I can think of maybe worse things than to be warm-hearted. But as I officially enter my late 40s, I find myself drawn to soothing, deep practices and flowing water.

So today I will take advantage of the sunshine and go for a walk near water, then to a bookstore, and certainly home for a nap at some point. There will be no dogs in my day, thankfully, and dinner at Alma Cocina Latina tonight with my sweetest love.

I want to take this small moment to offer gratitude to the universe and to all of my people inside of it. I am grateful every day for the wonder and kindness of the people I love and who love me back. Without you, the world would be a small and lonely place indeed. <3

31 Day Social Media Fast: Day 8

In which I skip out on Instagram and Facebook for the month of March but still allow myself the internet.

As seen at MOMs in Hampden. Would you try it?

It’s Friday, Day 8. The Child and I journeyed to the netherworld that is Costco where the people were friendly but today’s samples were subpar.

I didn’t have the heart to remind her that today would have been her dad’s 51st birthday. I cannot imagine him at 51. These days, it is increasingly hard to imagine him at all.

Life moves forward apace. It is snowing outside, and my boo is on his way over. We will watch the flakes fall and eat pizza, then go to sleep early after a long week.

Just five more days of 47 left. Not sure how I will spend my birthday; thoughts?

31 Day Social Media Fast: Day 1

In which I skip out on Instagram and Facebook for the month of March but still allow myself the internet.

Becky has to eat something.

Day 1: Super productive. Made myself a delicious egg sandwich for breakfast. Wrote 4,000 words for someone else, and a few for myself. Put away all of my stuff from my overnight with my boo, applied for a medical marijuana card, walked to the library where I commiserated with my lovely librarian neighbor Beth about the newly-painted hot pink house at the end of the street while I picked up Ross Gay’s The Book of Delights. Walked to The Wine Source where I got coffee and showed incredible restraint in the face of a wide assortment of delicious treats while the coffee was being ground.

On the way home, I wonder if it’s too early to start drinking. Maybe just a glass of wine.

Once at home, I realize I am hungry. It’s not even four o’clock, and I get a glimpse into why old people eat so early. Without the constant distraction and disruption of social media, they finish #allofthethings and sort of run out of stuff to do, so dinner seems as good an idea as any.

I am sad at that thought but looking forward to my sorority girl’s snack of salad with chicken tenders. #SolidKarenMove

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