December I’m in love

Some small updates, as I try to find time to write in between baby and keeping myself fed. Also, what I’m watching and reading at the bottom.

Dec 21, 2024

These days, I only have room for poems and short blurbs. For small things I catch in passing. Days seem to be blurring into one giant pajama day. The other day strong winds passed by and knocked a nearby pole and some wires fell outside. I was upstairs nursing Lily when the house shook and the lights flickered. I kept looking at the closet light as it wavered. I heard crackling outside and peeked out from my small window. My daughter at my arm was also shook, wondering what was all that wind for. Her eyes wide, like “this none my business, but that don’t seem normal.” A wire caught a spark and was waving itself wildly. I turned off some lights, and went back to nursing. My hubby came upstairs already on the phone with 311. Some neighbors came out later to see the damage with their dogs. My hubby was annoyed. “ I don’t know why they’re getting so close?” The spark eventually turned off and the utility company came by to check it out.

We also received a new plant Monstera deliciosa (native to tropical forests)—from some friends who are definitely not being pressured to have a baby. We went to visit them for a Saints game and ended up invading their couch with all our baby stuff. Even their older cat Anchovies was annoyed. He hissed at Lily. This was Lily’s third cat interaction of the week so maybe he smelled something. She sees the cats, but doesn’t really care for them yet. I can’t wait for her to take real interest. Lily is becoming more observant; every time there’s a new face she locks eyes. Sometimes she’ll smile especially with smiley people.

A lot has happened since I last posted. For one, I had a baby (surprise!). I also published my first short story (Parallel Decoy), along with attending some readings and finding new writing communities. I went to a reading the other day that made me want to experiment with form, whether fiction or CNF; readers had such funny and inventive stories.

These last weeks have graced us with family and friends visiting. It was so nice seeing my mom giving Lily a bottle, showing her skills while my sister sang her the jigglypuff song, and my dad also watched her while I was cooking. The cats mostly stayed hidden and we had to go chase them down so they could eat. Wilfed, our stray cat, tried to steal their food, but we smartened up and kept a tight watch on him. He’s actually not super male-alpha with them. He cowered to momo’s glare. His only goal is to find food—”he don’t want no drama.”

The other day I was rummaging around for glue, since I was making a mobile. I opened one of the boxes and it was full of journals. So many journals that I haven’t looked at in a while–strangers from another planet. Was I still the same person then?

Outside there seems to be a wild number of trucks. I cannot sleep through it, but somehow baby is doubling down and sleeping in defiance. It must be the garbage trucks at this time.

Yesterday, I went to Tintas DC’s despedida/holiday party for a local writer and professor. It was really sweet, between writers sharing their work, singing karaoke and dancing to old tunes, just being in community, filled me with a lot of love and joy. I haven’t been part of a group as close knit and jovial as Tintas DC in a while. Most of it is work related or tied to publishing. And it’s nice being with people who share your heritage, say the same silly things in Spanish, or sing the songs that remind you of your youth.

I was planning on not singing and just scampering away, but lucky for me they started karaoke early and the organizer egged me on to sing. I chose Friday I'm in love, a song that makes me dance everytime I hear it. It represents this idea, that not all days will be perfect and full of joy, but there’s the one where you love yourself and those around you, there’s one day where you’re less, a lost girl, and more so, the culmination of being yourself.