Leslie got me a lil paint set from CVS and it’s been bringing me so much joy this week. It may have been designed for kids but that means it’s full of bright colors and doesn’t stain my clothes or the furniture when I make a mess! It’s also kind of… Keep reading "Progress, not perfection."
Does anyone remember the line from Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who: “A person’s a person, no matter how small”? For whatever reason that line often pops into my head (probably because I’ve watched the movie more than a few times). Today, after a difficult week, I found myself thinking,… Keep reading "An accomplishment’s an accomplishment, no matter how small."
![Sometimes life surprises you [a poem]](https://i0.wp.com/maddysquish.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/img_7821-1.jpg?resize=800%2C800&ssl=1)
Sometimes life surprises you Like on Saturdays when you’re sadand the sun is nowhere to be found, So you ride your bike down to the shoreline where– growing from the sand – are signs that say, “Jazz Quartet; Follow the signs or sounds.” So you follow the sign along the… Keep reading "Sometimes life surprises you [a poem]"
I spent the weekend trying to relax. I didn’t go for any long bike rides or runs; instead, I went for short walks and took naps. I read an entire book. No, wait – two books. I made a playlist called “chill out maddy” and listened to it for a… Keep reading "My “chill out maddy” Spotify playlist didn’t work as well as I’d hoped."
I was drafting a new post this morning (related to mental health, actually) but I will save that for another time as I want to share this short note instead: I heard earlier today of another death of someone I knew by suicide. I hope it goes without saying at… Keep reading "A short note"
I. blooming flowers and a friend, reminding me: you have to start somewhere. not all things are beautiful when they first begin. II. a morning walk on a summer dayin northern californiawhich means I am wearing two jackets and a hatbut you can hear the rising sun saying to the… Keep reading "little things, april 2021"
1. In a brief moment of culinary inspiration last weekend I decided I wanted to bake some scones. I’d just had my morning coffee – so the possibilities for my day were seemingly endless and I dreamt my biggest, most wild dreams – and seen an inspiring photo of local… Keep reading "Little Things / March 2021"
I first read Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s poetry in AP Literature my senior year of high school. I can’t remember which of his poems we read (was it “Sometime During Eternity“? “Constantly Risking Absurdity“?); since then I’ve read his poems so many times that most of the words seem familiar. When I… Keep reading "The world is a beautiful place"
Before I begin: I have hours of thoughts on this topic beyond what I’ve shared below so…I would love to talk more with anyone who is interested. Please message me if you want to talk; it can be as general or as personal as you wish. A few other prefacing… Keep reading "Eating Disorders and Privilege"
When I bought my gravel bike it came equipped with “tubeless” tires. Even though I had ridden plenty of miles by that point, I had no idea what tubeless tires were. (For the non-cyclists reading this post, knowing what tubeless tires are is irrelevant to the rest of the story.)… Keep reading "I Still Don’t Know How To Change a Tubeless Tire"
I’m a sucker for gratitude. Some of you probably want to vomit every time you see yet another “how to practice gratitude” infographic but developing a gratitude practice over these past ~5 years has undoubtedly had a positive impact on my life, and so I will continue to preach the… Keep reading "A Lil Holiday Gratitude"
Has everyone listened to the viral “Reply All” podcast episode “The Case of the Missing Hit”? If not, go listen to it before reading the rest of this post. “Reply All” remains the only podcast to which I regularly listen and that episode was my initiation. I bring this up… Keep reading "Rain, rain"