I took out the trash earlier today, which is always an experience.
Water dripped from leafy canopies and onto my hair from an earlier rain, a pleasant chill that was not enough to remove the waves from last night's braiding. Gnats and mosquitoes buzzed around in pre-storm excitement as I hauled the trash across crumbling asphalt. Because of the aged roads, steering requires both hands here, even though the can has wheels. I kept moving, so that nothing with wings could bite or sting. It wrenches my back a bit, and makes me dream of automated, rechargeable trash can wagons. Maybe an electric skateboard. Regardless, a silly dream, not truly wanted, just mused over to fill time during the walk.
When the task is done, I come home. After washing my hands, I slice a banana in two halves, layer a few spoonfuls of oat milk ice cream over them, then drizzle a bit of chocolate and a frozen cherry on top, each of these a profound decadence. I rarely have this, so I've been making these last. The sprinkles are pretty, but perhaps they are expired. Still, the already melting dish feels better with a splash of color, so I allow it.
I take these to my wife, who is taking a moment to play Animal Crossing. She's recently unlocked a new room for her character's house, and she's redecorating in there. Inside, there is a DIY bench, and around that, a dazzling cornucopia of brightly colored, digital baked goods spills across the entirety of the room. She's making breads, and pies, and cupcakes, and curries, taking little vegetables and grains from the digital gardens we've made and creating a world of little treats. They somehow feel real, maybe because they often are. She loves to bake, and I'm so fond of the joy this brings her. Whenever she is creating, magic seems to shimmer around her.
I sit beside her with the treats I've made, and look with shared thrill as she excitedly shows me all of the recipes she's unlocked. We found pumpkins being sold by Lief for the first time recently, and bought 30+ plants, so our options for digital food have expanded in such fun ways. A villager, Skye, gave us a recipe for peach pie, which is another delightful thing to look forward to, as we have yet to find peaches on any of our island visits. It looks so fun and cute, little streams of steam floating above a twirl of sliced and spiced peaches.
I lean on her shoulder, the most precious space to rest, and we eat our melting banana sundaes while watching her character cook some more. These moments have been such a balm lately. There's so much going on, but there is also this, and it matters beyond my capacity for words.
