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This weekend was jam-packed with fun but man, was it busy.

Friday, The Girl came down with some sort of stomach bug. Might have been a migraine, still not sure. We didn’t think she’d be able to run in Saturday’s track meet but it was a home meet, which gave us a little more time in the morning to assess things and since she so badly wanted to make-up for her spill during last week’s meet, she got dressed, loaded up on fluids and off we went. She’s a tough kid.

She made it through all four events and even with her throwing up the night before, she improved on all four events. But, it was another long day and it was very warm in sun so we were all grateful to be able to go home and rest for a little while. My nose looks a little too red even with the sunscreen I put on but it felt good to get a little sun.

After a bite to eat and some lounging, we headed out to see The Teen perform in the Jazz/Pop Concert that his choir put on. It was a great show and there were lots of hilarious moments. It was a treat to just sit in the dark and be entertained.

Today, I could not get anyone to go to church with me so I went by myself. It was a great service and it was nice to take an hour to just sit and reflect. I don’t get to sit down and reflect too often without something needing to be done or someone wanting me to do something for them. The music was great and I just tuned the world out. It was just what I needed.

Of course, my trip to the market afterward negated every good feeling in my body but I digress.

What am I reading?

Finished The Museum of Extraordinary Things. It was meh. Not horrible, just meh. I have about 5% of Life After Life left and I can’t wait to be done with it! I started The Cold Song. It has started off strong. Let’s hope it sticks.

What am I cooking?

Not a thing. I bought stuff to cook throughout the week but today, we are picking up roasted chickens and fresh tortillas from the Mexican market and we’ll nibble on fresh chips and salsa for dinner. Simple and perfect. Those tortillas are to die for! Actually, I am baking a chocolate cake for later but now I am wondering if The Girl will be able to have any. Darn it.

What am I watching?

We had a free movie weekend but there wasn’t a darn thing worth watching. Tonight, The Walking Dead. Man oh man, just two episodes left and I am dying!! So much has happened. I can’t wait to see how the season wraps up.

The Girl is still not 100% so we might throw in Working Girl and make some popcorn because everyone knows that popcorn with extra salt can cure many ills, including a stomach bug.

That’s all I have. What’s going on in your world?

Dept. of Speculation
By Jenny Offill
(Knopf, Hardcover, 9780385350815, January 2014, 192pp.)

The Short of It:

Dept. of Speculation is a glittery, moving entity that grabs the reader quickly with its sharp and lovely prose.

The Rest of It:

This novel is quite different from anything I’ve read before. Reading it, was like gazing into a prism. It dazzled me with its simplicity and had me rereading passages every time I turned a page.

The story is told by the Narrator, who later becomes The Wife. She marries, has a child and then when the marriage begins to fall apart, she quietly observes the destruction almost as if she is a stranger on the outside, looking in. Infidelity plays a large role, as does the exhaustion that comes with raising a child. But in the midst of the not-so-good, is the good. The smell of her baby’s head, the way her husband used to look at her, the fact that they’ve come this far, even with all of the angst. There is something to be said for working through your problems, and that is what The Wife does, in her own head, as she carefully weighs what’s important to her.

Before getting married, we possess a sense of self. We know who we are and most often, what we hope to be. But once married, that plan or that sense of self often doesn’t pan out or changes into something else. That is the case here. With marriage, comes experience and life lessons and when we have children, we learn from that experience as well and it changes us. It would be impossible for it not to.

This book captures that moment of when Me, becomes We and then back again. Don’t let the book’s length fool you either. It’s short but packed with meaning. There’s plenty to reflect on here and although it certainly deals with the struggle that lots of married couples experience, it’s hopeful and tinged with the promise of something better.

Dept. of Speculation is a lovely read. I highly recommend it. Oh, and if you don’t read it, I may have to stop talking to you. I just threw that in to see who’s paying attention.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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