199. Hot Showers, 11:11, and Drawing on Eggs – Sophie Blackall
If you have an egg in your house, you can draw a face on it. No one will stop you.
Excerpted from Things to Look Forward to: 52 Large and Small Joys for Today and Everyday
No. 2. A Hot Shower
I never take a hot shower for granted and never underestimate its power to make me feel better. Coming from drought country, I mostly try to keep my showers short. But now and then I let the hot water run.
No. 9. 11:11
When my kids were little, we would touch fingertips like E.T. and Elliott and make a buzzing sound when we connected. I would reach a hand to the back seat when I was driving, and the kids would bzz my fingertip in return, not looking up from their books. I would bzz them if I was stuck on the phone too long or if I was trying to be discreet at school drop-off. It was a way to silently communicate: I love you. Don’t forget to eat your fruit. I wish I could protect you from all the heartache and injustice in the world—bzz bzz. We haven’t entirely retired the finger buzz, but it was mostly replaced around fifth grade with marking 11:11. Initially, it was about noticing the time and making a wish; all the kids were doing it. In middle school, when my children got cell phones, one or the other would send a family group text at 11:11 a.m. I was torn between thinking they shouldn’t have their phones out and being chuffed to get the message. Now they are out of college and making their way in the world, but we three still text each other at 11:11 if we happen to catch it, sometimes twice a day. You can’t watch for it—that would be wrong—but it’s a moment to look forward to, a moment of connection. A virtual finger buzz.
No. 11. Drawing on Eggs
If you have an egg in your house, you can draw a face on it. No one will stop you. Then you will look forward to opening the fridge.
“Hello, Egg!” you’ll say.
You will amuse yourself no end. Trust me.
