Early & Alone #88: Lilac Season

On stopping to smell the flowers

I just had a feeling of deja vu as I posted this pic I took of lilacs in Jeff’s neighborhood earlier this week and checked myself—have I already written a Substack about lilacs? I haven’t, but I DID post a picture of lilacs this time last year.

But this reiterates my point—I’ve always kind of felt an affinity for lilacs. We had a lilac bush in the backyard of the house I grew up in and my mom would cut them and put them in vases on the kitchen table in the spring. But I never really noticed how brief lilac season is in New England until I was in my 30s, living down the street from Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum, which celebrates lilac season with an annual celebration called Lilac Sunday. It’s a lovely explosion of pink and white and purple, the very essence of spring and blooming and new beginnings. The lilacs are usually in bloom for my birthday, which feels appropriate and deepens my love for them.

The Arboretum website says, “Known as plants for colder climates, lilacs need a period of cold-initiated dormancy to trigger flowering.” I mean, what could be more poetic? Do you smell the lilacs…I mean metaphor? Because here it comes…

According to my new self-imposed posting schedule, this week’s Substack should be on the creative practice. But here’s the thing—in the last few weeks, this Substack has been about the extent of my creative practice. And that’s okay! I still have lots of ideas about what to write about on this topic. However, this Thursday snuck up on me, as has been the case pretty much every week since I have tried to send a weekly Substack. I have a lot going on in my offline life right now. Lots of big transitions. It’s all very exciting but a little scary and hard and overwhelming too. There is a lot to do. There are a lot of things to take care of, most of them not creative. And so my own creative practice has been a little (okay, a lot) neglected.

But here’s where the lilacs come in…maybe this is the period of “cold-initiated dormancy” (or everyday life-initiated dormancy?) that will trigger flowering!

In conclusion, it’s okay to take breaks. Especially if you’re stopping to smell the lilacs.

Bright Spots

🎼 Last week a friend had an extra ticket to a concert in a venue I’d never been to, seeing artists I wasn’t super familiar with. I did know and enjoy Langhorne Slim, but the co-headliner, John Craigie, I was going in cold. I’m happy to say that the show was excellent and I especially loved John Craigie. Like a cross between Mitch Hedberg and Father John Misty, he had me laughing and singing along and clapping and all the things. Just a great reminder that sometimes leaving the house, especially for live music, can be well worthwhile!

📺 Jeff & I binged the Apple+ series Shrinking last week. It’s not a perfect show, but I thought Harrison Ford and Jessica Williams were fantastic, and I did find myself invested in the characters and their relationships, despite some of the more problematic elements of the show (none of these people have ever heard of boundaries). Have you seen it? What did you think?

👩‍⚖️ We also started Jury Duty, which is streaming on the app Freevee. At first, we were kind of like, mehhhh? But after seeing countless reviews praising the show, we’re pressing on. It’s an improv show where everyone is an actor (including James Marsden, playing a satire of himself) except for one man—Ronald Gladden, who thinks he is participating in a documentary about a real trial. The trial is not real, nor are any of the kooky jurors he’s sequestered with throughout the proceedings. It’s pretty ridiculous but also different and funny.

🐕‍🦺 As someone with a less-than-enthusiastic-about-strangers dog, I thought this was hilarious and spot on. (Thanks for sharing, Nancy!)

🌮 Speaking of said dog, Jeff’s daughter created this masterpiece one night while we were eating quesadillas for dinner and I commented that Gizmo would look great in a sombrero. I love it so much.

If you enjoyed reading this, click the ❤ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack!