Scavenger hunt
<p class="">The other day I discovered a tiny wad of paper stuffed into the handle of the kitchen trash bin. “Open it” was scrawled in spidery pencil.</p>
Today is gray and lightly rainy, and normally that would depress my mood but today it feels right. I feel a little tired, through my whole body; not in a bad way, today it feels right. Today is a day to be a little slow, a little deliberate. To stay cozy in our cocoon. There are rumblings of things “reopening,” even while the number of confirmed cases in our county keeps rising. Yes: stay home, stay safe. That’s the thing to do.
Last night we watched 20 minutes of The Rise of Skywalker over fruit salad. We’ve watched a lot of movies as a family this way: 20 minutes here, 35 minutes there, drawing out the Marvel Universe, say, into a through-line for our evenings. We may have three different versions of a dinner in three different locations of the house, but we all look forward to seeing what Thor or Star-Lord or Rey will get up to next.
The little delights are easier to find because they’re all we have for the time being. For ten years, our small family orbit has been almost my entire life, so it’s been easier for me to practice living small and even to enjoy it. It’s been a pleasure to see my boys and my husband discover the little delights. They’re here all the time now, so it’s become easier for them, too.
The other day I discovered a tiny wad of paper stuffed into the handle of the kitchen trash bin. “Open it” was scrawled in spidery pencil.
Oliver, our most impressive delayed-gratificationist, planted clues who knows how long ago and waited, waited, waited. Until I found the first one: expertly placed, assuring that it would be the first. Soon Ethan joined in.
“Rhymes with ‘hope’? How many letters?” we asked.
“Five!”
“Are you sure? Go check with dad.”
Whispering, then a few moments later: “Yep! Five! Because of the silent E!”
Slope. The word was slope. Which is where we found the second clue.
By this time, we were not merely invested, but invigorated. We went dashing about the house (in this house, there are several places that have green and bunnies). And I found the final note:
Tonight, we will have beef tacos, we’ll watch another 20 minutes of Star Wars, and I’ll wonder how many joyous small moments of her life Nanny held onto, and took with her when she left.