the reading week

October 21, 2013

I’ve dubbed this week The Reading Week. Because that’s what we’re going to do.

We are going to read.

There is so much wonderful, fun stuff to do here that I find myself paralyzed.

All the people!
All the food!
All the events!
All the books!
All the projects!
All the work!
All the choices!
All the things!

So I picked just one thing for this week: books. We’ll read what we have on our shelves, and then I’ll expand my re-entry experiences to include An Expedition To The Library.

Going to the library feels like a momentous occasion. Like a feat. Like A Major Undertaking. My sensitive nerve endings will have to retract for the event. I will have to tamp down the awe and dizzy delight and overwhelmedness and hone in on titles and make selections.

It will be easy once I’m there, I know. Second nature, like driving and putting detergent in the washing machine. But there is anxiety beforehand. (Yes, I had anxiety over the detergent.)

Part of me wants to savor this tenderness. Newness, or RE-newness, is a precious commodity. Something tells me that I must sit up, pay attention, and slow the heck down. (The other part of me hates transition and wants to get on with it already.)

This week, the slow-the-heck-down part of me is reigning supreme. We will read, to ourselves and to each other. The togetherness, the papery, inky pages, the stories, the glow from the woodstove—all these things will conspire together to shore us up and ready us for the next step. When we are ready.

PS. I thought about doing a quotidian post for today, but then scrapped the idea. When in transition, there is no quotidian.

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7 Comments

  • Laurie Longenecker

    October 28, 2013 at 1:14 am Reply

    Love your lines about savoring the tenderness or newness or renewness and know that it is fleeting. I remember this feeling and knowing that we would be swept back into our routines and "normal living"again. The chance to have eyes to see your life from a different angle is really priceless. No rushing it.

    • Jennifer Jo

      October 23, 2013 at 11:45 am Reply

      Hey Ann Marie! I didn't see you! Hello, retroactively! (Yes, we have a fair bit o' print to plow through. The house is nice and quiet this morning.)

  • Kate

    October 22, 2013 at 3:56 pm Reply

    I felt this way when we moved (from one state to another, so I can't imagine what it would be like from one country to another).

  • beckster

    October 22, 2013 at 2:24 pm Reply

    Thanks for sharing and reminding me of our wealth of books in this country. Oh, the library! One of my favorite places in the world, and for us, it is FREE! Whee!

  • Anonymous

    October 22, 2013 at 1:20 am Reply

    Reading is such a wonderful solution for this feeling of being at sea that you're in right now. It'll give you a chance to regroup and settle in before stretching out again. and what a treat! Going to the richness of the library! Have a wonderful trip there. We love the library and make it an occasion each and every time.

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