Shaved Meats, Piled High: January 2019
The Snowy Day
Today is a snow day.
Today is a snow day and school is cancelled, although the streets and sidewalks are clear.
Today is a snow day and my assistant, who is my back-up child care, is out of town on a mission for me.
Today is a snow day and my husband has jury duty.
Today is a snow day and a closet installer is coming at 9 a.m., so I can’t take advantage of the one-day pop-up art camp where I might be able to park my daughter.
Today is a snow day and I still have six manuscripts to read for Writers in Paradise, which begins in six days.
Today is a snow day and I owe, by week's end: a micro essay (done-ish), a short story (would meet FDA standards for doneness, but probably not quite done); revisions on an essay; another essay; a revision of the play on which I’ve been working with my husband. I have just started a novel, too, and it feels as if it is sitting across from me, coat on and keys in hand, tapping its foot impatiently.
Today is a snow day and I have only two eggs. I am not going to share those eggs with anyone.
Today is a snow day. And I wish that this were the kind of story that takes a twist and I suddenly discover the joy of just being, you know, PRESENT. But that was yesterday, with sledding and a matinee of Mary Poppins Returns and dinner at what we call "the cornbread place."
Then I lost an earring, a nice one, and came home to the news that school would be closed today.
Today is a snow day, but is not, with apologies to Ezra Jack Keats, whose gorgeous art appears at the top of this entry, The Snowy Day.
Read/Reading: The Hidden Things, Jamie Mason; Washington, Ron Chernow; The Golden State, Lydia Kiesling; Duped, Abby Ellin. A DOZEN STUDENT MANUSCRIPTS.
Re-reading: Ballet Shoes, Noel Streatfeild
Me, Me, Me: The Mystery Box, that saucy wench, was cited by Real Simple's Elizabeth Sile when she tweeted out a long thread about her favorite pieces in 2018. It's a good thread for those who want to pitch personal essays to Real Simple, or any magazine.