No one is watching

(if you don't count the bots and your doorbell)

How’s the view from where you are?

This was a very weird week. LadyTeen was away at choir camp and Manchild returned to campus. I was left with a few childfree days. It felt a little odd. Like a preview of possible coming attractions…

Photo by Sarath C M on Unsplash

My intrepid spouse left the house for a few hours and there I was, staring at the clock with zero things on my immediate to-do list.

What do you do first when you find yourself with a sudden lack of responsibility and no eyes on you? Do you clean? Bake? Get baked? Read? Have a cocktail? Watch some TV? Take yourself somewhere nice? Throw on pjs? Shop? Write? Exercise? Call a friend?

What is the very first thing that your brain tells you to do when no one is watching?

Me, this time?

I dug out a hula hoop. Go figure. I guess I needed to play a little.

This isn’t me. My hula hoop doesn’t light up. But my smile does, when I do silly things. Photo by Miguel Alcântara on Unsplash

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This week I saw the new musical production of As You Like it (Shakespeare in the Park) done by the Public. Some fun things: a running gag with King Ferdinand that you don’t quickly forget, 70 people onstage from age 7 to 89, and of course some quite surprisingly great songs sourced from the Bard’s own messages. Go see it if you get a chance.

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I also spent several hours at the Fluxx Art Festival on Governor’s Island. I went into several art exhibits but nothing was all that interesting—until I realized that the houses themselves were amazing. I started taking photos and they came out great. Check them out! (you’ll have to click through some photos of a spectacular new outdoor restaurant also on the Island, but I think you’ll suffer through that okay).

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Lots of editing this week - had to approve drafts of both pieces coming out in September. I’m so excited for both of them.

I also just got news that a podcast I recorded will go live this Wednesday! It’s Episode 9 of Kaitlin Solimine’s “Postpartum Production Podcast”. You can access it here starting August 31! They took four quotes, put them in a pretty font and and attributed them to me —like a meme—but my guess is that they used some AI to make the selection because three of the four quotes, when taken out of context and read out of order, are appalling. Ha. But here’s the good one:

I’ll leave you to ponder the many ways that something can be valuable and have nothing to do with money. It’s a good thing to remember.

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