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On Brand

I recently had a rare opportunity to plan a pandemic-friendly date night with Adam, as well as extra time beforehand to scout locations (I think I was just as excited about the solitary planning time as I was the date night itself). The place I settled on was a hub of eco-friendly community, a cluster of restaurants and shops encircled by trails and art. I delightedly browsed the shops and chose a restaurant (dinner and dessert separately for maximum enjoyment, dinner being a place we'd both like and multiple dessert options to suit our varying tastes).

While I waited for Adam to be available, and since I had found my location on my first stop (I had other back ups that I ended up not needing), I sipped a smoothie and journaled for a little while. The breeze blew and the cocao nibs crunched and the thoughts flowed easily from my pen.

Once we met up, while sitting at a socially distanced outdoor table, he looked around at the other shops and the trees and the food and the enormous vibrant mural beside us and said, "This is very you."

My likes are, truly, an open book. I lent a steamer to an acquaintance and she returned it with a gift card for my favorite local coffee shop - not because we'd talked about it, but because she'd seen me post about it more than once on Instagram. I've recently started a rather dangerous habit of always having iced caffeine (either coffee or tea) while the kids have afternoon peace (I allow it because once the weather cools off I'll switch to home-brewed hot tea) and that same coffee shop has been industriously teaching new hires my favorite drink, because it recently got dropped from the menu but they still make it for me, and I order it more often than I'm going to specify here (but it starts with L and it ends with O T S).

Years ago, when I worked at an ice-cream shop and had my name on my visor, people would read it and go "Sarah Jo... knits?" Both my mum and my mother-in-law have been given messages for me from Liz in Arizona or Marianne in Vermont, simply because they mentioned to a total stranger that they had a daughter who knit, and the person knew who I was. I still get blurry photos from phone numbers I don't recognize, asking for help with some stringy problem. Knitters I do know send me pattern links (usually leafy, green, or both). Without a project in hand, I still carry my knitting everywhere in the form of a tattoo on my right wrist - but if I show up without a project even the non knitters ask if I'm alright.


Tea and stickers from Bella Vita

I chase nature, murals, coffee, books, local restaurants, local shops (I recently joked that my Instagram is essentially a Bella Vita fan account at this point); beauty that is visual, edible, and/or wearable. What I surround myself with in my home is also what I seek outside it. What I share is what I care about - a living embodiment of the term "on brand."


Amazing mural in Fayetteville that two friends of mine (along with several other amazing artists) collaborated on

Drinking tea/coffee, reading/writing, knitting/making, and seeking/sharing beauty are all fairly quiet things (I do give out recommendations to strangers, but only when asked). I've spent a long time practicing quiet and learning to listen and see, and I don't think that was a bad thing. There were valuable lessons that I never would have learned if I had charged through life, insisting that I knew what I was doing (or could figure it out on my own). 

But there are also things that are really important to me - a strong sense of justice and fairness, for example - that aren't so obvious to those outside my immediate circle (mostly my kids and long-suffering husband). I'd like to - slowly, and respectfully - start becoming a more active activist. Last month's book review post was a small start, but I'm still searching for ways to honor that new direction - within myself, and in the sharing of my daily life.
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