Lundie's Life

sub-zero wind-chill
the next day 50 degrees
midwestern winter

The transition between winter and spring sure is an adventure (read: pain in the ass)! The lurch out of winter here in the Midwest is not typically gentle. It isn’t unheard of to bounce between lows and highs that differ by 40°-50°F. So, we dress in layers, layers, layers!

For me, it’s also the time of misplaced car keys, chapsticks, masks, and sunglasses as winter coats are chucked in the back seat, and the “right” place to store and retrieve these items is replaced with “the handiest place” – purse, pants or jacket pocket, sweater pockets, cupholder in the car…you name it! Here’s to longer days ahead!

brunch with my bestie
audiobook and minecraft
a good saturday

I’m sensing a theme in some of these posts. Face to face experiences have become more meaningful. Sitting in a restaurant and being served breakfast. Talking freely with my best friend over multiple cups of pretty crappy coffee is a luxury I can’t afford to skip over anymore. Life is too short.

In between loads of laundry and other various chores, my favorite no-brainer, no-effort pastime is to play Minecraft and listen to a fiction audiobook. There’s something so Zen-like about excavating around buried strongholds like an 8-bit archeologist. And fiction audiobooks, well, those are just an all-around brain treat!

music you can feel
deep in your chest it rumbles
revving up the throngs

What an awesome way to start the weekend! The best company. Two bands we thoroughly enjoyed. People watching was quite the entertainment. Not as many costumes as we had hoped for. Seats were really good (other than the fact that they were not created for people much over 5’ tall). 

And the music? It was downright amazing. There is nothing quite like experiencing music you love as a full body experience. Safely protected by earplugs, the pleasure of sound reached my brain through my chest. Singing and dancing, screaming and cheering surrounded us. Laser lights. Confetti canons. Flame bursts. Completely unforgettable. 

the bands are in town
concert tickets acquired
anticipation

A song came up on my playlist that really hit the spot. A quick Google brought up their band information. Oh yeah, they’re Danish. Wonder if they’re likely to ever be in the States.

Next weekend?!? It can’t be that easy, can it? Just do it.

Texts exchanged. Date arranged! Who is this new person that I seem to be? Did I bump my head? No, it’s just time to start following my impulses again. Double vaxxed and boosted. Masks readily available. It can be done!

Tickets purchased. Schedule cleared. I’d forgotten how much fun it is to look forward to an upcoming date! 100% approve – highly recommend.

shampoo head massage
texture-snipping artistry
local hair salon

For me, salon visits typically start with anxiety. Things go more smoothly if I can manage to strike that middle ground with the stylist. I don’t need to chit chat, but they have my full attention if they are functionally guiding me (chin down) or looking for feedback (like this?). If they are sharing something personal in order to connect, I’m all ears. Otherwise, I’ll just sit here and try to sleep #thankyouverymuch.

There’s something profoundly relaxing about the head massage while getting my hair washed. I’m not 100% sure it counteracts the anxiety of GOING to the salon, but it’s definitely what gets me through!

communication
face to face and eye to eye
heartfelt connection

With the people I love, there is no substitute for sitting across a table, sharing food, drink, and eye contact. So much can be communicated without words. A raising of an eyebrow. The crinkling of the corners of the eyes.

Between social distancing and our frantically busy and separate lives, my relationships have been robbed of quality face time and the depth of unspoken communication that eye contact can bring. Zoom, FaceTime, and all the other video services have helped significantly, but for real connection, it has to be face to face, in-person communication.

What do you miss most about seeing the faces of your loved ones?

grocery store flowers
cards and candy 5 pm
st. valentine's day 

I made a quick grocery run this afternoon and there was a noticeable pilgrimage of men entering the store and a matching stream of men leaving with cellophane wrapped bouquets.

It made me wonder exactly what feelings these men had completing this errand. Did they do this as an act of self-preservation? Was it something that made their significant other feel loved, appreciated and included? Why is it primarily men who are tasked with the flower and chocolate acquisition? That’s a rhetorical question of course.

Do we really need a litmus test for the quality of our relationships?

I’ve been so looking forward to this!

Here we go again
#The100DayProject
Haiku '22

I’m adding “more info…” to my Haiku project this year. Writing (at least) 100 words to my post for the 100 days of the project. After a conversation with my best friend, I decided that pursuing something I enjoy was more important than doing something unique every year. The little flutter of excitement that I got when I decided on doing haiku again was all I needed to know I’d made the correct choice. There’s something pleasing in boiling all the thoughts down to precise words that fit a structure, and then selecting backgrounds, colors, and fonts that fit my mood in the moment.