This land is your land

 

It’s been kind of a busy couple of weeks. Or at least busy enough to justify being tired all the time. 

I took off work the Friday before Easter and had my hair done. I was hoping my nail girl would magically also be there so I could just knock it all out in one trip, but she hadn’t fully escaped her old salon yet. So we made a plan for Sunday since neither of us really care about Easter anyway. More on that in a minute.

Since I was already committed to seeing my mom on Sunday, I had a rare free Saturday and went thrifting. I found a new place and immediately fell in love. The owner and his dog Maxine are great, and the shop is small but packed with higher end stuff. Of course, not much in my size because that would be too easy, but I did find a couple things.

I asked if he ever gets smaller sizes and he said it’s hit or miss, but then casually mentioned he was going through a closet from someone about my size with a bunch of vintage pieces. Then he literally ran to the back like he was about to change my life. He pulled out tubs and there were three 1940s or 50s romper bathing suits that were completely swoon worthy. I was already emotionally attached. He said he’d go through everything and have more the next week, so now I’m invested.

I also tried another place my sister recommended and it was… fine. I found a couple things in the kids section that I could make work, which feels very on brand for me at this point, but nothing remotely close to those bathing suits.

Sunday I met my mom and sister for brunch. It was a buffet and actually really good, plus way cheaper than our usual place, so naturally we decided we’re going back for Mother’s Day. A coworker and I go there sometimes and their grilled chicken is amazing. It’s this wood fired Italian situation, so there was everything from chicken parmesan and pizza to salmon, beef tips, pasta, breakfast food, and an unreasonable amount of desserts. They also had gelato, because why not push me over the edge. I absolutely ate too much and paid for it.

After brunch I went home, changed, and headed downtown to get my nails done. On the way I stopped at this bridge that just opened a “musical road,” which sounds ridiculous but is actually kind of cool. They put rumble strips in that play This Land is Your Land when you drive over them. It’s part of the Route 66 centennial. The trick is setting your cruise control to 35 before you hit it, which I did not know at first, so yes, I had to do it multiple times like an idiot until I figured it out. I need to take my mom because it really does not take much to entertain me.

I got to the salon, met Eb, and then we realized she didn’t have a fob yet to get into the suites. It was literally her first week there, so I guess that tracks. I ended up just going home, which honestly worked out because I needed a nap anyway.

I went back after work on Tuesday and somehow hit every single light green like I was being rewarded for something. I made it there in record time and called my mom to tell her I clearly needed to buy a lottery ticket. Later that night I opened my email and saw I had been selected for the first round of ticket sales for the LA Olympics.

There are two events in OKC, softball and whitewater canoe slalom. OU’s softball program is basically elite and they built a really nice facility, so that makes sense. The whitewater park is… also there. I assume it’s nice. The ticket system gave you a 48 hour window, probably to keep everything from crashing, which feels smart.

I’ve always loved the Olympics. It’s basically the only time I feel even slightly patriotic, which feels about right. Going to an event has been on my bucket list forever.

As my time got closer, I kept reading that everything good was either sold out or wildly expensive, so my expectations dropped fast. My window opened at noon on Saturday, so I told my mom if we did anything, I needed reliable internet. She decided to just stay home, so I sat there like a stressed out lunatic waiting.

When it opened, softball was immediately out. Even preliminary rounds were over $500, and medal rounds were long gone. But then I checked canoe slalom and there were medal round tickets available. Did I go over my $250 limit? Yes. Do I regret it? Absolutely not. I am going to a medal round and I will be insufferable about it.

We could buy up to 12 tickets, so I got mine and four for my sister, but on a different day because I am not dealing with them drinking in July heat. I have limits.

After that, I met my sister back at the thrift store from the week before. The owner saw me and immediately gave me a hug, which was honestly very sweet. He pulled out one of the bathing suits for me to try on and it was too big. I was devastated. It fit everywhere except the chest, which feels rude. My sister tried it on and it was too tight on her, so no one won. Kevin was just as disappointed as I was, which made it worse somehow.

I did find a Johnny Was shirt and a Max Mara dress though, so I can’t complain too much. I’m just tired of not having clothes that fit, so I’ve been slowly trying to build up a wardrobe that actually works. I’ve also learned that kids size 14 jeans fit me better than a lot of women’s sizes, which is both helpful and slightly insulting. My current favorite pair came from the kids clearance section, which feels exactly right.

On that note, I weighed over the weekend and I’m holding around 87 pounds. When I saw my therapist, we talked about seeing a nutritionist who specializes in ARFID. When I looked it up, it sounded a little too familiar. I’ve always joked that I eat like a second grader, but it’s more than that.

I have really bad texture issues with food for no logical reason. There are things I won’t even attempt because my body just immediately says no. And when I eat, I hit a point where I physically feel like I’m going to gag if I try to take another bite, whether I’m actually full or not.

Chicken is usually safe, but it can’t be too thick. Microwaved food is not happening. And food should not touch, with very minor exceptions like Thanksgiving. I’ve been like this my whole life and it was always brushed off as picky eating, but it feels like more than that. The nutritionist has a long wait list, so we’ll see when that actually happens.

Sunday I met up with HMF for lunch and our next show, Mamma Mia, which was a lot of fun. She also got a full time professor position at Baylor, which is huge. She’s been a postdoc forever and finally got a staff role. Her husband and A are staying in Tulsa because they don’t want to disrupt things for A, and her dad is in memory care

with Parkinson’s, so she doesn’t want to fully relocate.

Her schedule is mostly Tuesdays and Thursdays, so she’s going to rent a room from a colleague in Waco and make it work, which honestly sounds exhausting but also impressive.

She also finished her last round of radiation, so we had a celebratory drink and dessert. I got her a pair of phoenix earrings that she loved. It ended up being a really good day.

At lunch she brought up her brother, which is always a little risky because he’s the golden child. He works for NASA on the heat shield, so, you know, no pressure there. Dennis and I have been low key obsessed with the Artemis mission, and I wanted to ask about it but didn’t feel like accidentally triggering a whole family therapy session. Luckily, she brought it up first, so we got into it. We talked about him being at the launch and how stressed everyone was waiting for them to come back down.

Meanwhile, I was fully invested like it was my personal mission. I was obsessed while they were in space and rushed home like I had a job to do so I could watch the live feed when they returned. I think part of it is being Gen X and having Challenger burned into my brain, so there was absolutely no chance I was watching the lift off. I’ll catch the recap, thanks.

Also, the whole “copy moon joy” and “copy heart, copy bracelet” thing had me way more invested than I expected. I don’t even fully know why, but suddenly I’m emotional about astronauts and their inside jokes. And when they started talking about naming a crater “Carroll,” I was like great, now I’m attached. This is where we are now.

The astronauts all seem like genuinely good humans, which feels rare these days, and following their whole journey the last couple of weeks has been weirdly heartwarming. Which is saying a lot, because I’m not exactly known for my soft, emotional side.  And the video of Christine Koch's dog seeing her when she got home 😻