Tragic Sandwich

Tag: 2019

  • Resolutions? Word of the Year? Bring It On, 2019

    Resolutions are tricky. There are so many things I want to accomplish, and it’s so hard to narrow them down, and it’s so hard to finish anything. So I usually don’t make any.

    For several years, I’ve been seeing people identify a “Word of the Year”–a word chosen to represent what they hope to do in the upcoming year. And I have not been able to get my head around it.

    How do you pick one word? How do you know it’s the right one? What do you do with it? I don’t know.

    And then, surprisingly, things started to click. We were taking dessert to a New Year’s Eve dinner, and I decided to buy a cake. Because New Year’s Eve! Cake! Definitely cake.

    So I found my resolution: I’m going to eat more cake.

    That’s metaphorical. I’m going to find more joy, do things that make me happy, look for the spark of positivity that is nearly always there.

    And also it’s literal. Because cake.

    So this morning, as I was listening to Meagan Francis and Sarah Powers talk about resolutions and words of the year on The Mom Hour, I realized that I have gotten my head around the idea, at least this time, and I know my 2019 Word of the Year.

    Cake.

    Yes, there are things I have to do, no matter what. There are needs and jobs and responsibilities, and those must be met. But whenever I can, I’m going to look at what’s being requested of me, and I’m going to ask myself two questions:

    1. Is this cake?
    2. Does this lead to cake?

    And if the answer to either is “Yes,” then I will give it my all, or as much of my all as I can.

    Cake.

    Cake covered in chocolate frosting with pink frosting roses and green frosting leaves, plus a ribbon of pink frosting around the upper edge
    Happy New Year!

  • Women’s Marches

    The Women’s Marches are not for us–at least, not the big ones like L.A.’s. We decided that last year, and then Mr. Sandwich suggested we make a last minute-try, because he could see how much I wished I were there, standing next to my friends to support our beliefs. And it was literally last minute; we threw backpacks together, bundled Baguette into the car, and set out.

    We never made it. The Metro Red Line trains were too crowded; while the other riders waved us on, the crush clearly was too much for Baguette to manage. But I tried my best, and I got to cheer on and support other marchers. I feel like I got to be a part of it on some level.

    This year, we didn’t even try. I couldn’t imagine that we’d been any more successful than we had been last year, and the photos my friends are posting on Facebook confirm that, indeed, this event is not right for Baguette. Instead, we made an almost last-minute decision to take her to the snow, of which there has been precious little in area mountains this year.

    I decided to make a donation to an organization or two, and I figured that would be it.

    But then another friend posted that she had gone to the Redondo Beach march. And I realized that, as always, there are more options than the ones right in front of me. The L.A. march isn’t right for us. But maybe there are smaller events that would work better for Baguette.

    There’s a lot of 2018 left–but let’s see what 2019 brings.

    Blurry motion picture of full Metro Red Line car carrying 2017 Women's March participants to downtown L.A.
    Red Line in motion–Women’s March 2017

    Post inspired by Cloud of Wandering Scientist.