Dear reader,
On repeat today, during the first good rain in a long while, is Draw You Out by Noah Kahan, produced by Aaron Dessner (king of intimate recordings!) from the upcoming Hunger Games film. He nestles this into a verse, and it is stunning:
See the rain over the valley’s edge /
Won’t be long until the whole world’s wet //
Made even more powerful by the fact that I am currently reading the corresponding book Sunrise On The Reaping by Suzanne Collins. My favorite one of hers so far. I grew up on her books, and her ability to capture human truths in high stakes environments that eerily mirror the present is truly prophetic.
I took my dog Jack for his first IV treatment yesterday. Because of his kidney disease and heart murmur, while he was on the drip for hours, I held my breath the whole day. But boy what a day of hydration and recovery can do to the pep in one’s step! I feel incredibly blessed to be with him daily after almost 16 years together. The look he gives me when he catches my eye as he rounds every corner is love itself. I owe him everything, beyond words. As I read at The Penny Hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY via Gertrude Stein: “I am because my little dog knows me.”
I have witnessed people feel this feeling when taking care of an aging parent. Jack went from being my baby to my elder in the span of my early life. As Noah croons:
No one tells you just how long you’ll last /
Some go slowly, and some far too fast /
I’ve got time I never planned to have /
I got years and years of it //
Ah, lyrics. Doing what they do best. Reader, I have found great perspective in not taking anything or anyone for granted, and being grateful for every second of time we have. In that way, every tear has been worth it. Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping in theaters November 20th.
With much love & to going beyond the surface,
Anjali