Essentials: Re-discovering the Daily Necessary

Does the current, um..situation have you rethinking your entire life? Maybe you’re just trying to focus on the essentials and get through this week. Either is ok.

Photo by Elizabeth Explores on Unsplash

I’m listening to the first few tracks of Sarah Siskind’s latest release, “Modern Appalachia” and already had the ugly cry. This is a good thing. There is something about the way she writes that triggers all the things. About 10 years ago, I drove 2 1/2 hours from Aspen back home with only “Falling Stars” on repeat in my car – after a really STEP IN SHIT eye-opening trip to visit someone I thought I had a relationship with. I cried the entire way home,with that song as my soggy pillow. It was the salty cleanse I needed. It was necessary.

In a little while, I’m going to shop for vinyl online and buy from my local record store. Music is essential, in good times or weird.

You might find, you get what you.. will pay for

Since the great pause started, what.. a hundred years ago? – I lost count – I’ve noticed more emphasis on the essentials. We need some booze, mac and cheese, toilet paper, but probably not that overpriced Magnolia bathroom sign that was made in China but looks like it came straight outta Waco. “Wash Your Hands” is etched on engineered wood in a font that no one in China uses. Sold out.

Do we need words on our walls to express common sense as art? Nope, but someone will sell it to us. “Eat” “Love” “Create”.. really?

It’s easy enough to get alcohol. There are now cocktails to go in a bag or jar! Have you had any trouble? I didn’t think so. My sister is mailing me toilet paper this morning from her home in Wisconsin. I feel like a bootlegger. The only thing left on the shelves at Tarjay was some kind of “flushable” wipe with a name that included “sensuous” and “down there” Ok, no one is buying that, not even in a pandemic. It’s kind of like vegan cheese. The horror.

Shop till you.. come to your senses

I’m watching large retailers persist in selling me “cute stay at home style”. Again – not necessary Nordy! I have worn the same striped yoga pants for the last five days and put on a bra and a little makeup for a Zoom meeting. That’s essential. When I feel the work-from-home frumpy kick in, I do a spa mask and blow out my hair. I’m thinking about leaving the slime green mask on for my next online meeting. Video ON.

This is a super-cute look! Essential work-from-home style

When this crazy is over, how many of you will think twice when someone markets an “outfit” for a mundane activity? Look in your closet! I love fashion and in no danger of losing my Southern-girl card, but I no longer see the appeal of throw away goods – especially from the big box stores. Adopting minimalism a couple of years ago changed my outlook on what is really needed to be happy. It’s different for everyone, but it sure broke my addiction to a packed closet of one-offs. Maybe “fast fashion” will evolve into actual-sustainable-long-term-fashion. I see so many smart small business owners adapting now – offering products that last, or provide an experience rather than a “thing”.

I don’t remember what I wore to the shit-show in Aspen years ago, but I do remember the music that got me through the storm. There was also amazing coffee involved. Essentials

Essentially.. it boils down to this

So far, my favorite tracks on Modern Appalachia are “Me and Now” and “Carolina”. The first is tissue-worthy (Kleenex, not toilet); the second takes me back to my Southern-by-way-of-Appalachia roots, blended with some personal tugs. The Carolina lyric; “..a fine line between down to earth and underground” ..that’s the sweet spot. Give it a listen. Tell me you don’t need to sit on a porch and embrace stillness, not shopping.

My personal hierarchy of essential is boiling down to a few things Maslow didn’t get into; mac and cheese, coffee, chocolate, a bottle of good Kentucky bourbon, the farm box that comes to my door on Wednesday, a few minutes each day with the guitar and mandolin… and a record on the turntable. It can be ugly cry material, like Siskind’s latest, or some solo dance party get on up with James Brown and Otis Redding. Dancing. Yeah – that’s essential too.

dancing – essential and good for the soul.

Photo by Larm Rmah on Unsplash

Thanks for reading! Please subscribe for more awkward personal memories 😉 What’s in your non-negotiable list now, as opposed to 3 months ago? We are all so different, but that’s the beauty of the world. I hope you’re noticing more of that now. The beauty.