Finding Comfort in Smurfs💙
What's Your Sign?
I think we can all agree that the world’s gone kablooey, and the plot to kidnap Michigan’s governor kinda seals the deal. What. In. The. World.
The election. COVID. Debates. Police shootings. Supreme court hullaballoo. Raging fires. Protests. Hurricanes.
It’s a lot.
Yesterday, a woman posted on our town’s mom Facebook page a photo she took of a Black Lives Matter flag hanging on a house in town. She commented that all the signs in town were obnoxious and propaganda and I thought it was interesting that that was the sign she singled out, and not the Trump one on a major thoroughfare proudly bearing an expletive. One mom quickly chimed in to say the sign made her happy and chided the poster for singling out neighbors. The next time I checked back, the post was gone.
I’m trying to stay off social media after recently watching “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix. My older son texted me about it last week and said, “It will make you deeply sad.” He was so bothered that he turned off pretty much all phone notifications and said it changed the way he viewed his phone and social media.
This soon-to-be-28yo man loves his phone, too. I mean, they all do. But for him to start rethinking how we are all being manipulated by tech companies is saying a lot.
I watched and it really did scare me, hearing all of these big tech people – like the guy who spearheaded monetizing Facebook and a former design ethicist (this is a thing?) for Google – kind of say, “Whoops.”
Instead, I’ve been trying to go on long walks and listen to things that have nothing to do with politics or the state of our world. I’ve been enjoying a path that overlooks Sandy Hook Bay, with the Verrazano Bridge and lower Manhattan skyline in the distance. I love looking at the sailboats in the marina bobbing in the water and get a kick out of the rock piles folks have made along the seawall.
My 23yo daughter has joined me for a few of these jaunts and we marvel at the stones teetering on top of each other. Not long ago, she noticed a little plastic blue Smurf perched atop one of the cairns, and we stopped to take a picture of it. Soon, we realized there were Smurfs tucked in the knots of trees along the path and hiding in between the notch of two tree trunks. We joked that she had an excellent Smurfometer because she could spot one a mile away while I needed to have each one pointed out to me.
She took the dog to go on another walk without me a few days later and came home to report that not only did she see a ton of Smurfs, but that some clever person had wired green army men into trees lining the path. She was so delighted by these little sparks of fun that she went to the Dollar Tree and came home with four tiny Minions – you know, the yellow guys from “Despicable Me” – to hide along the path.
She was only able to position two on her first attempt because there were too many people and she was trying to be sneaky about it. We went a few days later to check on them and hide the rest, and we said hello to one Minion who was still tucked into a tree knot, but the other one was missing. She hid the remaining two, climbing onto the rocky seawall to place one of them on a very precarious pile of stones and stood back to take a picture of him before we moved on.
A few years ago, someone had created a little fairy garden in the woods where I like to hike. There were all these tiny figures and plastic mushrooms and every time I passed I’d stop to look to see if someone had added anything new.
I wonder who takes the time to plant these little seeds of delight. Do they have signs on their front lawns declaring their candidates of choice, or thanking healthcare workers or celebrating their children’s graduations? Or are these people content with silently spreading joy with little plastic Smurfs?
I guess it doesn’t matter. I just know that every time I spy them, the little bits of magic and mystery make me happy. They make me forget about fires, hurricanes, pandemics and all the rest and remind me people are good. That there is somebody out there tucking Smurfs into trees for the pleasure of others to discover.
Because there are signs, and then – there are signs.
Friday Faves
During one of these famous walks along the water I took alone with my dog, I was literally laughing out loud listening to this podcast. The dudes are all buddies and give each other so much guff and have great guests. My 23yo and I have been listening to a bunch of them together and laughing our butts off at the shenanigans. The Maya Rudolph interview is so stinking funny and her description of her lady parts after four kids is ridiculous.
My girl Kelly C is at it again with not only a new series on PBS but a thoughtful podcast in which she wonders about some of the bigger things with a guest. I find her voice and words a balm in the midst of all the yuck.
I know Ina's got a new cookbook just out but I am kind of obsessed with her "Cook Like a Pro" that came out a few years ago. Last weekend, while listening to the silly podcast, my daughter and I cooked our way through it for guests Saturday and Sunday. The Israeli Vegetable Salad slayed.
Did you catch the "Father of the Bride" special COVID reboot a few weeks ago? I mean, I loved those movies, and my daughter and I got cozy on the couch and found YouTube on the telly and I was crying about 45 seconds in. George Banks is still goofy, Frank a weirdo and the sentiments about how quickly it all goes by have never been more appropriate. Get a kid to help you find it (even better if you watched the movies with that kid 15 years ago) and treat yourself this weekend.
Okay, I know I am like the last person to discover this magical hairdryer but I am obsessed and relieved I've found something to tame my witchy locks.