When the hits keep coming

Focus on the fundamentals. And po'boys.

Part of growing up is learning that you, in fact, are the adult in the room.

The first time I experienced this was seconds after giving birth to my son, when I realized: Oh no, they trust me to take this kid home. Why me? Don't they know who I am? How I'm irresponsible at best and a danger to myself at worst? My husband is a responsible person with his shit together, but not me!

(Update: I have successfully not let my son perish for the last 6 years, so I'm taking that as a win in the responsibility category.)

But the realization of my own adulthood has become more common in the past year as several members of my family have died, and those in my generation took the helm in planning services and executing wills.

I don't have much in the way of good advice for navigating all of this. It sucks. Especially when it feels like it keeps coming.

A couple of those so-called adults in New Orleans for a funeral. We did make it to the Krewe of Pygmalion parade on Saturday night. If you have to go to a funeral, you should console yourself with oysters and po’boys.

I have been taking a lot of naps, trying to stick to a consistent routine in terms of my fundamentals (food, exercise, journaling, reading), and reminding anyone I can to put their assets into a trust.*

Adulthood for me at the moment might be best defined by what I'm not doing:

• Putting pressure on myself to blast through my 2025 goals. there's 10 months left in the year, and surely it can't be this bad forever (knock on wood)

• Feeling bad about taking a nap a couple of days a week

• Feeling bad about not working on revisions

I'm doing a little bit at a time. I'm revising my book 15 minutes a day, and transcribing as I go when I'm generating new scenes. I'm taking advantage of a weekly zoom meetup to increase my social media presence for my business. I'm working on a couple of contract pieces a month to keep the cash flow going. Taken individually, it doesn't feel like much. But I've come a long way in the past couple of months, and I'm proud of the progress I've made.

Recommended Reading

A little pop culture history for you this week, in honor of the 10 year anniversary of The Dress. RIP internet of the 20-teens, we didn't know how good we had it.

It’s Been 10 Years Since “The Dress” The Slate

A decade ago, The Dress united and divided us. It couldn’t happen now. Poynter

*Seriously. Even if you feel like you don't have anything, please write down your wishes. Paperwork is important, especially when you're not around to answer questions anymore.