Easter was this past weekend, as you probably know. We don’t exactly celebrate Easter here, but Rocket Kid loves to hunt for eggs. Last year, we made a scavenger hunt and he was delighted. This year it kind of snuck up on us, so we just hid the eggs, and he was still happy. No baskets or special meals or fancy clothes and, because COVID is still a thing, no get-together with anyone else.
I do love hearing about and seeing pictures of other people’s traditions. It’s interesting to me to see how people make their holidays special, which elements are passed down through generations, what foods are considered essential, which people have or don’t have religious elements.
I saw pictures of a wide variety of foods from take out to “took two days to prepare.” Baskets for kids with a few things, with a ton of things, with only candy, with only not-candy. Rarely baskets for adults, but some, nearly always prepared by the mom, maybe with a surprise for hers in there from dad. Fancy clothes, Arizona-fancy clothes, regular clothes.
I participated in a conversation about hiding real (hard boiled) eggs versus plastic eggs, and whether they’re hidden indoors or outside. I’ve talked about whether or not you reuse the same baskets year to year or have a new basket every year.
Hit reply and let me know—what did you do for Easter? Or what was your favorite part? Or what part is necessary for it to feel like Easter?
What’s new on the blog?
Writing
Too long, didn’t read.
I can’t listen to hour-long podcasts.
I don’t click on videos that are more than three minutes long.
As a creator, I feel pressure to create content that is meaningful, that will connect with my audience, that has substance and value, and is short.
If it’s too long, no one will read it.
I think we sell ourselves short and are dumbing ourselves down in this way. I mean, three minutes for a cat video is long, but for something with substance and meaning?
Adaptation, oversimplification, hyperbole, and change
As part of a conversation in episode 42 of No Stupid Questions, Stephen Dubner made mention of people who lived through—and therefore, for a period of time, adapted to—horrible situations, and then shared this hypothesis:
"All of us can adapt to some degree. But with something as simple as removing sugar from your coffee, to me, that's just a little problem of engineering. You just need to find a way to engineer yourself into the choice ... and then you'll adapt."
It was a provocative statement, and one he could make easily, as it was Angela Duckworth, his cohost, who had altered her morning coffee. His coffee remained as-is.
Photography
What about books? Other media?
A month or more ago, a friend was talking about a novel called The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion. It sounded like a book I’d enjoy, so I added it to my list … and then she gave me a copy!
It is a lovely story about a man with autism (who is aware he is different but not diagnosed) who creates a survey to find the perfect spouse and gets caught up with a woman his friend sent over. She doesn’t meet the criteria for a partner, as per the questionnaire, but they get entangled in another project together and keep spending time together. Some of it is predictable and there are a few unexpected twists. Overall, delightful.
The link to the book above takes you to bookshop.org. It’s a site that serves local, independent bookstores. While not all bookstores participate (I know of two locally that aren’t listed), I think this is a better option than amazon. Do the books cost more? Sometimes. Do you have to pay shipping? Probably (though for Changing Hands, the store I patronize, I can do curbside pickup or in-store pickup if I don’t want to mess with shipping). But I see it as money for the local community and for people running a business instead of for a man who has more money than all of us put together, cumulatively over our lifetimes. It’s worth an extra few bucks.
Heat’s other offerings
First, another freebie: I have a separate newsletter about the experience of getting a book published as a not-famous, not-previously-published author. That is exclusively about the book (and is the only place I’m going to write about it), and once all the book stuff is done, that will be the end of emails from there. Click here to subscribe.
My blank greeting cards remain for sale off my site until I get Etsy set up. You can find those here.
Of the other stuff in the works, at least one will be available here next week!
You could also support me and my work through sharing. Do you know someone who would be interested in this newsletter? Forward it, or use the share button at the bottom.
Thanks! Have a great week!