patchworks
2026 Vol. 2
February was a bit of a doozy.
I spent the first two weeks sick, and then the last two weeks with lingering congestion. Multiple friends have (jokingly) asked me if I think I’ll just be congested forever. Sometimes it feels like maybe I will, no matter how many hot showers I take or sinus rinses I do. But, just like winter, one day congestion is there, and then you realize…it isn’t anymore. I know soon enough I will see this snow melt and be able to breathe through my nose once more.
But I’m not here to wax poetic about mucus, or even about winter. There is no narrative through line to my month, really. I laid in bed rewatching old seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race, I cheered for Alysa Liu at the Winter Olympics, I made Tuscan beef stew and chocolate earl grey cake for my friends on Valentine’s Day. I read a psychological horror book that hit a little too close to home. I visited the quilt exhibit at the American Folk Art Museum and watched the Oscar-nominated shorts and finally bought a nice pair of black boots that will last me years to come. I cried at my friend’s kitchen table, I took a melancholic walk in the blizzard, I went dancing. I spent many days feeling so-so, a few feeling absolutely miserable, and a handful feeling quite happy. Sometimes life is just a series of moments, and there doesn’t have to be any pressure for one moment to flow meaningfully from one to the other, or to even remain the same, consistent person through it.
My goal for this newsletter this year is to make one short audio piece a month to share. In the spirit of February, this month’s is a patchwork of audio I’ve collected over the past year or so. I know it’s important to stay in the moment and all that, but I’ve been trying to get into the habit of pulling out my phone and hitting record when I’m experiencing sounds I’d like to remember. You’ll hear the wind chimes in my parents’ backyard, a conversation with my niece, a sunny day reading outside at my favorite coffee shop, a fireside story, prepping vegetables for a group dinner, an Uber ride with friends. Just a series of moments.