New Day #89

Today I paid attention. I know, it's not like I never have before. After all, observing the world is one of the job requirements for being a writer. But today I bumped it up to a new level, committing myself to seeing the world with new eyes. Having lived in the same place since college, I've begun to feel like Miss Marple, who solves her crimes because everyone she meets reminds her of someone she already knows.

According to my Guru Mom, the beach is a good place to see what's new because it's never the same. Particularly the Oregon coast, where this past winter's storms were so severe the erosion actually unearthed shipwrecks right on the beach. And since my mom's a visual artist with the enthusiasm of a six-year-old, she was the perfect guide.

So, where I saw a rock, she saw an angel:

Which led me to see a dragon:

Which led to a fascinating conversation in the car where we kept integrating words from signs into our sentences.

It's this kind of thinking that's at the heart of this project--to re-invigorate my daily routine, to re-invest in my life. To look at a hard-boiled egg and see Italy.

Speaking of this project, Oregonian columnist Margie Boulé interviewed me about it here.