my daily thank you notes

"Here's the thing i know about public school lunches: it only looked like a bunch of kids eating lunch...there was a code, a right and acceptable way. It was that simple. Your sandwich is the centerpiece, and there were strict guidelines. It almost goes without saying that store-bought white bread was the only acceptable bread. There were no exceptions. If your mother made a wheat-bread sandwich instead, you could only hope that no one would notice. You certainly did not brag about it, any more than you would brag that she also made headcheese. And there were only a few things that your parents could put in between the two pieces of bread. Bologna was fine, salami and unagressive cheese were fine, peanut butter and jelly were fine if your parents understood the jelly/jam issue: grape was best, by far, a nice slippery, comforting, sugarly, petroleum-based grape. Strawberry jam was second; everything else was iffy. Take raspberry for instance---"

-Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird

I started looking for a house today. an apartment, a duplex, and room--somewhere where i can set up my picture frames, put my clothes inside drawers, unload my craft box and generally make a mess if i want. it's proving to be a very grey endeavor. i've only gotten two replies back, neither of which look promising and both of which want more money than i want to give (which is not hard since i'd rather not give any at all). it's usually in these situations that my mind starting flying out of control. one little worry makes me worry about everything and i suddenly start thinking that nothing will work out and nothing ever has. but i'm very conscious of this irrational-ism (?) so i tried to find something that would tame my wild thoughts.

so i started to reading where i'd left off in "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott. On page 33 Anne launches into a description of school lunches. it's the same school lunch i had all through 5th and 6th grade and never realized it. and i think it's the funniest little description ever. suddenly me and eric were talking about the anxiety of having to bring a plastic bag lunch to school instead of the much more acceptable brown paper bag lunch, and how his can of coke was the only thing that got him through those lunches because it was the only thing 'trade-able' he had. really anything packaged, processed and with a recognizable food brand on it (think doritos, cheetos, lays potato chips) would give you right of passage in the lunch room world.

anyway,
it really did the trick.