A List of Recent Treasure

(Not a comprehensive list!)

1. This morning, K. brought over 33 stalks of rhubarb from her garden. Half of them were given to J. Most of the other half has been cut up into small chunks, with sugar poured over it. Into one of the jars I added tarragon and rosemary. I’ll let it sit out for 3-4 days until a happy syrup forms. Then I’ll drain out the syrup and add it to an equal amount of apple cider vinegar, and that will be a shrub I can pour over seltzer and a smattering of ice cubes at the end of some very hot Vermont days. Since I stopped drinking, I’ve craved the ritual of a special drink, and I miss where wine or beer sits on my tongue. A shrub isn’t quite the same but I also like that it’s a bit savory in of beer or wine. Maybe you’ll like it too! Here is a good place to start if you want to try making one.

2. L. (a book critic) sent me a big box filled to the brim with advanced readers copies she has been collecting with me in mind this spring. Isn’t that just lovely? It started out with my commenting my envy on one book she’d just posted on Instagram, and her offering in her generous way, “I’ll send it to you!” and then her saying “and also I’ll send you this, and this” and then her saying “I’m sending you a whole box!” Can you believe my fortune?!? This morning, I made sure K., K., and J. each picked one of the books to borrow when they came over for eggs and gluten free muffins and to pick up the plants I brought back after my sojourn to Connecticut this past weekend (see below).

3. For the long weekend, I drove the kids down to visit my parents in Connecticut. I knew that two days sandwiching a third would make the trip just long enough to set off ten hours of round-trip driving. It also helps that my older kid now drives as a competent adult (!) which means he could be back up if I needed it. It’s also worth noting that my parents live near an amazing mall. Since we have never lived near a real mall (first, in Brooklyn; now, in Vermont), my children hold the Visit to the Mall as a very important aspect of the Visit to the Grandparents. Which is all to say that the adults were mentally prepared to take the children to the mall on Sunday afternoon (whether we liked it or not). But then! We spent Sunday morning at a combination of the incredible local Goodwill (so many treasures for so little money!) and, inexplicably, a vintage car show in the parking lot of the local elementary school. And after that no one particularly needed to go to the mall! Which was great! And which meant that my dad and I got to spend the suddenly beautiful afternoon digging up all sorts of native and special plants from his garden, for me to drive back north to my garden: six Japanese maples, four peach tree saplings, baptisia, phlox, hairy beardtongue, two different kinds of irises, and one white oak sapling. K., K., and J. helped take some of them off my hands this morning, and I popped most of the rest in today.

4. When we drove south on Saturday, my parents met us in Great Barrington where we all tromped around and ate ice cream and went to the amazing craft store and the amazing art store and the artisan market, and then they took us out to a delicious meal at our favorite tavern, where my parents even thought to ask for our favorite table in front of the fireplace.

5. C. and A., both of whom are in the business of helping fellow writers (and have thriving book coaching and developmental editing businesses), have both given me so much wise advice and time and energy as I consider how to hang my own shingle to help writers who need help with plot and structure. More on that soon!

6. M., J., K., N., and K. have read or are reading my manuscript and offering encouragement and feedback and fantastic ideas, as I wait to hear back from editors.

7. D. came over to pick up lupine volunteers from my yard (as did F.), and he was in his pick-up, and when I asked if he might consider driving us to Tractor Supply sometime so we could buy some cattle panels to make trellises for our garden beds, he said, “why not go now?” And so now we have two massive cattle panels waiting to go up, just as soon as my husband and I have a spare moment (ha). Here’s an example of what we’re aiming for. I will keep you posted.

8. K. brought over (what, a dozen?) little bluestems from her yard. And then she put them into wet mulch for me because I did not have it in me to plant them today.

9. D. brought over a bag full of dahlia tubers from her yard (a yard which I look at nearly all day, every day; the dahlias are rich and red; almost edible) that I then popped into the ground. Well, most of them. K. wanted two and K. wanted another two, but I planted the rest.

10. My mom came with me to charge my car at 8pm on Sunday evening, and didn’t complain once when the first place I went to didn’t have the right plugs, and then the second place already had two people charging (and there were only two chargers), which meant we didn’t even start charging until 10 pm, which means we didn’t get home till 11:30. And she was in a good mood the whole time! It was enviable! I was… not.

11. And meanwhile, my dad was putting my very reluctant 8yo to bed (which meant reading out loud to her for an hour and half, until she passed out).

12. And right now my husband is washing the dishes so that I don’t have to.

13. And the treasures of my kids are sleeping in their beds.

14. And even on the days when I think, hooboy, the world is full of such darkness, here I am, counting the treasures.

M.