40 Days of Birthday: Day Thirteen

Today felt like autumn. Lennon wore his yellow rain coat in the stroller ride to Kita and not only was it wet, but it was cold. When my boys left, I hunkered down in front of the computer and wrote and read and sighed and wrote and read some more. Three hours flew by and when Lennon came home for his nap, I napped with him. Research can be exhausting, but I think the gloomy weather didn’t help. Also, Lennon’s been waking up in the middle of night and struggling to go back to sleep, leaving me bleary-eyed come morning. I napped hard and it felt divine.

Our plan was to hit the Martin-Gropius-Bau Museum today for the Dennis Hopper Photography exhibit. When I woke up from my delicious nap with Lennon at my side, my husband came in and asked, “Can a big nap be your special thing today?” I immediately realized the wisdom of his proposal looking out the window. For over a week I’ve been filling my days with extraordinary activities and reckon that having an indoor day is kind of “special” in contrast.

I took advantage of the extra energy the nap afforded me and did some cooking. I made this quinoa and sweet potato salad for easy lunches and a butternut squash soup for cozy dinners. I’ve made squash soup so many times now the recipe is in my head and I just add spices until it tastes as I remember it should. I will say that chili flakes and sea salt make all the difference—but I like an extra savory butternut squash soup.

Confession: I stayed in my pajamas all day today.

Confession #2: This is not the first time I’ve done this since becoming a mother. Or an adult.

Regardless, I felt good about not having really gotten out of bed today. I deserve it! My husband deserves it more, however, taking our son to Kita every day during his two-week vacation so I can have some research time. Still, he doesn’t complain. In fact, this afternoon while I was cooking, he mounted my amazing antique type-setter’s drawer to the wall above my desk. This impossible find was spotted on the way home from the Lady Castle last week at a vintage toy store down the street from our home. The tag on it said twelve euro, but I got it for ten. It’s the perfect perch for my growing collection of tiny curiosities: there are so many compartments waiting to be filled with glorious bobbles of soul-singing inspiration, I can hardly stand it!  

I’m feeling especially spoiled today.