Today’s Brew: DownEast Coffee Roasters’ Cinnamon Hazelnut. I mean, they want to transport you “to crisp fall days, ocean sunrises, cozy cabins, and quiet backroads.” And it TASTES LIKE THAT.

By Julie

It’s been so long since I blogged that I had that feeling of if I show up now everyone will be like, “Jesus Christ, she’s still alive?” Then it was time to renew my site, so I figured, bite the bullet fool, you’re not the center of the universe. 6 people will read this far.

EVERYTHING IS KIND OF A NIGHTMARE, RIGHT? I won’t explode about it all or anything in this post, but I had this amazing weekend and kinda hope you guys enjoy it too.

It’s rained 15 Saturdays in a row in Plymouth, Mass. I love the rain, so it pleases me immensely, and this Saturday we went to the damn zoo in the rain, me and the kids. (One kid is 18 now, so he’s more of a roommate and I love it, and the other one is 14 and so snuggly.) Place was totally isolated. Loved every minute of it. Completely serene, surrounded by woods, and the animals that get really hot were so happy. Black bears know how to enjoy the rain.

Then once you get into the rainforest exhibit (my favorite), you feel so cozy it’s amazing. Top it off with a hot coffee on the drizzly ride home and sweatpants when you get there. 10/10

Sunday is errand day, which is usually Saturday. I must have had an air about me because the world just wanted to be my friend and I loved it. I’m outgoing as a mutha anyway, so when people respond it’s extra nice. I went to Savers to try to find a frame sorta thing for my graduate’s haunting artwork that I will share here and if AI steals it I will burn the fucking planet down. Obviously I went to books, where I found vintage V.C. Andrews with the window in front, and if you don’t know what I mean, do yourself a favor.

A woman about my age with her mom who was around 80 said what a blast from the past it was, and we got to talking about how I grew up on Flowers in the Attic and alllll the Andrews books and it definitely affects me as a writer. Turns out Mom is an avid horror reader! And it was so heartening to talk to such outstanding women.

Did not find the frame.

Went to Home Goods. Where a woman’s carriage was barely in my way and so what anyway, right? Go a different way, why not? But she apologized like it was a major ordeal. I told her not to be sorry for things there’s no reason to be sorry about. Commence half-hour talk in the dish towel aisle and now we have each other’s numbers.

Later at Petco I talked to the reptile folks for AN HOUR. When the hell is the last time you talked to a stranger for an hour? I think I talked to strangers enough that day to give you a break. Then I got to hold the meanest lizard which makes me so so happy. Something about a good jerk lizard just brings me great joy.

It’s after dinner, and one of my bestest friends texts me a picture of a box of dead Venus Fly Traps at Walmart. This is my greatest weakness. (I say that about a lot of things though.) I immediately made an excuse to go to Walmart and bring home the 5 remaining living ones which fulfills me in a way that I need because my baby graduated last week and SOMETHING NEEDS ME.

What I’m saying is that I could do an offshoot of just about all of this stuff–Fly Traps, talking to moms about mom stuff, why I love mean reptiles, the rain, the zoo, doing new stuff with my kids and by myself–and this was not my easiest week by a long shot. I will do that story next because whoooa boy. But this week could have been a lot worse, even if it was a nailbiter. And I think that outlook followed me around. I hope it always does. Remember what you love, dive deep into it, let the shadow of it hover around you when things are murderously bad. That’s the stuff you CAN control. That’s the stuff that brings light to you and everyone around you. Make the things you love BECOME your essence, try to feel that way when you’re overtired, overwhelmed, angry, depressed. If you take an hour to talk to the weirdo at the pet store, who might be me, JULIE HUTCHINGS, FAMOUS AUTHOR, nobody will explode. I guarantee you, taking an hour to do something dumb that makes you happy, lets you immerse yourself into whatever the hell makes you happy, will not affect this big flat world negatively. But it will put a smile on your face, then on someone else’s face. And you might want to write it in your journal the next day and the next. Maybe it will get you through until the next time you spend a half hour at Walmart justifying buying plants again.

Be your passion, and let the little things you like become your passion too! Talk to someone about it when they least expect it. Bomb a stranger with a fun fact at the grocery store. You might get some serious looks, but you might make a friend whose texts you ignore for days. Maybe you’ll just give yourself a good goddamn laugh.

In any case, HI GUYS, I AM STILL HERE, nobody was looking for me, and that’s fine too. I’ll be doing shit in the rain if you want me.