Happy Saturday to those of you around my side of the globe. A quick check-in: I know, I know, you just heard from me the other day with my take on Elena Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend, the first of the Italian author’s Neapolitan quartet of novels exploring female friendship and much more. And, before that, I shared my dreams (and distractions) for 2020.
This year, I’m resolved to enjoy this writing-and-blogging community, the slow slog meditative process of writing and publishing, and the paths down memory lane I take as I write. And while I typically craft fiction–find some of it here at stories–I responded to a nonfiction call from the editors at Ruminate Magazine for readers to ruminate on “The Everyday.” That prompt led me to think of the joys of special holidays–like the baptism of my guys 10 years ago–and the joys of the mundane: Ordinary Time, ordinary time, and a warm piece of bread.
If you have a moment, my short essay (the second of the readers’ notes) is a two minute read–as are the other ruminations from readers around the country. But you might just want to stay a while, so we can, as the magazine’s About page says, “practice staying awake together.”
What are you ruminating about today?
See my mini-essay at Issue 54 The Everyday Readers Notes. (Scroll down.)
Rust Belt Girl 
It’s really great, Rebecca.
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Thank you so much. I loved your piece today!
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Thank you so much. But now it’s about your piece. It’s wonderfully written and I enjoyed reading it.
xoxo
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That was good, Rebecca!
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Thank you, Ritu!
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Rebecca, I’m not sure your link to your short essay is working for me. It didn’t take me to your essay!
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Thank you for letting me know!
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Same trouble for me when I tried the link.
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Ugh. Thank you, Eilene. I tried linking to a different page, though I don’t know if that’ll work any better. All the links are working for me. I appreciate you letting me know!
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Yay! The link worked for me. And I’m so glad it did. What a beautiful piece! I loved the description of the Greek restaurant and that ordinary, wonderful joy of good food and family. It was an interesting contrast to the ceremony and rituals during church. As for what I’m ruminating on right now – it’s a story of Londoners who volunteer to patrol the train stations, talking to people who might need some extra care.
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Oh great. Thanks for letting me know, Aggie! I’m so glad you liked my mini essay. I’m looking forward to your next story of Londoners–always meaningful and inspiring. Thank you for stopping back by here. I appreciate it!
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It was my pleasure!
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I’ve been ruminating a lot lately it seems. My boys are so independent now and I’m struggling because I miss those baby years. They grew so fast! They’ve grown into great boys, but I miss those little snuggles and they way they would curl up with me when I read them a story. That’s what my musings are today. 🙂
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Oh, I know, Lisa! My guys are 10 now and I take all the snuggles I can get, because I know it won’t last. It all really happens in the blink of an eye. I miss those preschool-age days (the baby days were bad with twins!) when everything was new and they weren’t jaded. Funny, how early that happens, these days. And stories and discovering that they could tell their own stories–I’m right there with ya! Thank you for sharing and commenting!
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You’re welcome!
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Just an FYI, I tried to find your essay, but couldn’t locate it. Maybe they’ve already replaced it? I’m not sure.
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Thank you for telling me. For some reason I have no trouble, but others have said the same thing. If you want to try again, this website should take you to their blog, and then you’ll scroll down and click on Issue 54: The Everyday Readers’ Notes. My mini-essay is one of those notes–second of the three: https://www.ruminatemagazine.com/blogs/ruminate-blog
Sorry for the trouble–not sure why that happened! I appreciate you stopping by!
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No worries! I just wanted you to know in case someone else had trouble, too. 🙂
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Hello Rebecca. I’m coming to your blog through a comment you left on Jennifer’s Unfold and Begin. I love the idea of ruminating on the everyday. After all, that’s where the magic of life happens. We just celebrated a granddaughter’s 14th birthday with a family dinner–and of course cake. So I am ruminating on my love of family and friends, of good food, and laughter. Have a lovely day!
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Hi Christie–and thank you for being here! I love your ruminations, especially what you said about the magic of life happening in the everyday moments. I sometimes find myself waiting for someday, when I should really be enjoying the here-and-now. I appreciate the reminder. Hope your granddaughter had a wonderful birthday–and that you have a lovely day, too!
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What a wonderful mini-essay, Rebecca! Love that line: “ We are all a little peaky with high notes, fats, and sugar, in need of a tonic.” You say so much on such a small canvas. Beautiful!
DS
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Thank you, Deb! Ha, I’m glad you liked that. I did think “peaky” maybe wasn’t quite right, though it was the word that came to mind. (I have lots of British blogger friends and their words rub off on me!) Truly I love all the ordinary times, and I could use another month of dreary, gray days to get some work done before Spring tells me to get outside! I appreciate you reading my words–and I hope you’ve gotten lots of yours down, lately!
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Ah…the days of breastfeeding. I was never much good at keeping my “bottles” covered. Love the image of sanctuary and how the very act of being hushed and in a holy place will hush our spirits. And the bread. Yes, Mediterranean food is the food of my soul. But so are burgers and IPA’s.
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Nor was I! Ha. Thank you for reading, Kelly. I love your take on Mediterranean food (and I’m right there with you on the others.) I think I had Mediterranean food on my mind, when I went to write this, because we went to an Armenia Christmas party in Jan., and they had a priest there to do a blessing over bread and salt–it was very nice. That, and my mini-essay just poured out of me (no weird comparison to breastfeeding intended). I do sometimes miss those days with infants, when everything felt so dire–eating, sleeping. Just surviving those days elevated the mundane to the holy, or essential anyway. Thank you, as always, for “getting” my musings! Hope you’re having a great weekend.
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