otter party.
in Thoughts and Feelings
as analogy, appendages, bout, COME, date, everyone, everything, fall, fine, first date, hand, History, holding hands, Jess, nope, otter, otters, otters hold hands, party, point, Rat, river, sea otter, sell, sleep, snake, Snakes, someone, sound, spiders, wake
You probably already know this, but I’m a little late to the party.
The party where everyone knows that otters hold hands while they sleep so as not to drift away from each other.
Best party ever.
I mean, have you seen otters?
Already adorable.
They have that down.
But otters holding hands?
COME ON.
Otters win, why do I even try?
Even if I managed to convince someone to float down a river with me and fall asleep while doing so (which is a pretty hard sell, I think), and also hold my hand (sounds like an awesome first date, though)–
Well, I still wouldn’t be as adorable as an otter doing all of the above.
And judging from my history, I’d probably fall asleep thinking I was holding hands with an otter and wake up holding hands with a snake.
No, Jess! Impossible! Snakes have no hands.
Good point.
How bout a spider?
Could I wake up holding hands with a spider in this analogy based on my history?
Hmmm. Spiders definitely have appendages, so you’re at least closer, but they don’t have actual hands, so nope. Still impossible.
Fine.
I guess my point is just that not everything that looks like a sea otter is a sea otter.
Like, sometimes a sea otter is a rat?
Precisely.
Which is when you abruptly stop holding its hand.
And then you wait till a real otter comes along.
Sure, if you say so.
I say so.
And then I hold his hand and we don’t drift away?
Right.
Not even when the current gets rough and the water feels cold?
Not even then.
Okay, cool. And thanks.
No problem. You should come to Parties Where Everyone Knows Otters Hold Hands While Sleeping so as Not to Drift Away From Each Other more often.
Oh, I totally plan on it.
sometimes.
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Thoughts and Feelings
as Auto, brother, car, dark, deal, direction, Draft, fea, feeling, fist, girl, ground, hand, house, jenna, jonathan, lake, laugh, legs, monsters, night, right, rocks, rustling, something, sound, sprinklers, standing, tank top, thud, victim, weapons
Sometimes the monsters you fear are just sprinklers.
And you’re standing there in the dark, clutching a fist full of rocks you’ve scooped from underneath your feet; you’re not wanting to get close enough to whatever it is that’s terrifying you to actually throw them, but at least you’re armed now, and if not dangerous, well–you’re no longer just an innocuous girl. You’re not waiting to be a victim, legs and arms exposed because you were running and wearing shorts and a tank top and you never did expect to be so scared and vulnerable.
Not tonight, anyway.
But then your brother laughs just a little. “It’s just the sprinklers going off!” he says. And you laugh at yourself too and you let go of those rocks and they hit the ground with a thud, respectively, until you’re no longer feeling so weighed down by the weapons you clutched while you were fearing the worst.
Sprinklers, that’s what they were.
And now when you pass those sprinklers, you laugh a little inside your head. And you remember that what you feared so badly was something that couldn’t hurt you, after all.
So you don’t need to walk around with rocks in your hand; you don’t need to run away so fast; you don’t need to fear that every sound you hear is the worst.
Because sometimes the monsters you fear really are just sprinklers.
the beast! and the witching hour.
in Loved Ones, Thoughts and Feelings
as beast, broken finger, broken nail, coming my way, door, finger nail, house, I.Because, Jess, nail, o clock, sound
It’s only Tuesday night and already this week has felt like many many days. I suppose that’s what happens when you almost get eaten alive by a beast at 4:15 am. And I have the broken finger nail to prove it, too. Unfortunately, it is the middle finger. And so I’ve now brandished my broken [...]
about a boy. a very special boy.
in Loved Ones, photography, Thoughts and Feelings
as Aren, God, Guy, hand me downs, hot ears, judah, man of the hour, Mandy, museum, native american costume, pilates mat, Rebekah, right, shoe, Sister Song, sound
For the past 24 hours, the man of the hour has been this little guy. Judah. He was born when I was in God only knows what state, four years ago today. I was touring at the time and while my sister-in-law, Rebekah, was having him–I mean, literally in labor–another sister-in-law, Darby, called me up [...]
that’s what I hear in these sounds
in I Lift My Eyes Up, Loved Ones, Thoughts and Feelings
as chain, creak, door, footsteps, home, Ingrid Michaelson, love/romance, point, silent treatment, sound, the chain, thoughts/life, thud, way
It’s his footsteps that reach me. The sounds of stairs, begrudgingly giving way underneath. With a creak, announcing him. And even though he’s walking away, there’s still the sound of him, and I love those loud stairs for that. But then the big door swings open and closes with a hollow thud and that’s that. [...]
