​Poetry isn’t given the attention it deserves. But it sneaks into the cracks of our everyday lives via inspirational quotes, lyrics from our favorite songs, and stickers on water bottles. 

Poetry’s everywhere, so long as we’re paying attention. 

What I love most about poems is that reading them is like looking into a mirror. They each reflect essential human truths in some pretty surprising ways. 

So in honor of national poetry month, I’d like to put a spotlight on one of my favorite, albeit quieter 18th century poems: “To a Mouse.” 

Take a moment to read it, if you haven’t seen it before. It was composed in the Scottish dialect, but for this post, I’ll refer to the standard English translation. Written by the Scottish bard, Robert Burns, “To a Mouse” tells the story of a farmer plowing his field and accidentally destroying a mouse’s nest in the process. 

It seems simple and straight-foward enough…at first.

The speaker opens by addressing the mouse, feeling pity for him in the beginning. 

Small, sleek, cowering, timorous beast,
O, what a panic is in your breast!
You need not start away so hasty
With hurrying scamper!

Then the farmer reveals some self-awareness in this prophetic and poignant line:

I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,

When I got to this point, I realized it was deeper than some dude talking to a helpless mouse. As the poem progresses, the farmer’s tone grows more despairing as he realizes that the mouse isn’t actually an inferior little “beastie.”

I want to focus on these lines toward the end:

But little Mouse, you are not alone,
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes of mice and men
Go often askew,
And leave us nothing but grief and pain,
For promised joy!

Still you are blessed, compared with me!
The present only touches you:
But oh! I backward cast my eye,
On prospects dreary!
And forward, though I cannot see,
I guess and fear!

Boom, there it is. The “mirror” moment of the poem. A golden nugget that reveals the essence of the human condition. 

We constantly dwell on the past and worry about the future. However, living in the present isn’t easy for us humans. But boy, do we try our darndest to make it our normal like the mouse does. There are entire industries built around this goal. 

If we’re lucky, maybe we can live purely in the present for a few moments, but the worries and anxieties, fueled by our egos, always seem to percolate back to the surface of our consciousness.

And in case we do get on our high horse and somehow forget about our flaws, we have poets to humble us. To remind us each and every day how beautifully complex we are. So yeah, grieve the loss of promised joys, the plans that went painfully askew, and remember that the whole point of this is to remember we are not the first ones to experience these ups and downs, and we definitely won’t be the last. 

So take heart in knowing we’re not going through this alone. 

Writing Updates: 
Jon and I created a little spring THREE BEE HONEY comic for our friend, Sarah Giles. We wanted to capture the bee’s POV when the weather gets warmer. For us, it’s time to enjoy some sunshine, but for bees, it’s time to get to work. 

Current Read: Scattered, by Dr. Gabor Mate

When both of my kids were diagnosed with ADHD, I immediately felt overwhelmed and frantically grasped at every piece of information I could get my hands on. Podcasts, books, classes—you name it. Some resources proved to be more helpful than others. But Scattered is one of the more helpful books I’ve read about this topic. And Gabor Mate is SUCH a great writer. His lucid and engaging voice made it easy to digest so much rich information. 

Parenting has always been hard. But parenting in this day and age—when we’re overwhelmed and juggling so many responsibilities—is even harder. Since we’re not raising our kids in a “village” like our ancestors, I consider these authors to be part of my village, guiding me and giving me hard-earned wisdom as Jon and I navigate this path. 

I’m still learning and growing as a mom. While my kids have faced and will confront additional challenges due to being neurodivergent, I can better equip myself to understand, support, and guide them. At the end of the day, that’s what matters most. 

If you know a child or adult with ADHD, I highly recommend this book! 

Pet Pics:

Lilo enjoying some baseball and watching her big brother as he crosses home plate. 

Garden Updates:
Our fig trees are back in bloom! Looking forward to putting some slices of this sweet fruit on my salads and toast. 

Sanity Corner:
We recently purchased a new record player since our old one stopped working a while ago. And man….what a difference a great player makes! The sound is so much richer, and you catch nuances in the bass and drums layers that are easy to miss on other devices. 

​Also, since I wasn’t able to see No Doubt perform at Coachella, we jammed to some Tragic Kingdom from home. It made my inner 90s teenager so, so happy. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for a reunion tour. 

That’s all for now. Thank you so much for reading! I’ll be in touch again soon. 

Feel free to share this little newsletter with a friend! :)

Take care,
Desi

I hate clutter. I hate how stressful and overwhelming it feels to be around a lot of stuff—especially when dealing with a small amount of space.

In fact, my ideal home would look like an Ikea catalog if I had any control over my living situation (I don’t…I have kids and pets lol). My home would be a soft, comfortable, and functional space, but definitely minimal. And simple. 

However, unlike our physical realm, our minds have infinite space for whatever we want to pack it with. And because ideas need inspiration and our ideas come from our beautiful brains, it’s helpful to deposit lots of details instead of keeping it clutter free.

So it’s time to fill ‘er up. Pack it with all kinds of information. Observations. Trivia. Questions. Everything.

But all that inspiration hoarding shouldn’t come from one place (I’m looking at you, TikTok). Don’t rely on social media for all of your “research.” Get outside and look around. Notice what you notice. What people are doing. What they’re wearing. What they’re NOT doing. How people are eating. Which places attract people and why. Which places need upkeep. 

And if you’re stuck on a personal or work project or feeling “blah” about something that feels stale or you're just out of dank meme material, change your routine. Then download every detail you can about your day. 

I’ve started using this strategy myself, and it has improved my ability to brainstorm ideas more quickly. Now when I stare at my screen, I can make the cursor move on command with a list of some starter ideas. And some of those have the potential to actually be good ones. 

Picasso once said that “Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” So work at it by shaking things up and noticing the world around you. Then commit what you observe to your memory. 

You never know when it might come in handy when you need some fresh inspiration down the line. 

Current Read: How to Get Ideas, by Jack Foster

My earlier manifesto was inspired by this book. Jack Foster does a great job of inspiring and teaching us how to turn on that radar in our minds to find ideas. They are all around us, if we pay attention. How to Get Ideas is a super easy read and great for anyone who wants to find inspiration, whether it is for work or personal projects. 

One specific exercise he suggests is to spend time really, truly observing our surroundings and then write down specific observations we have each day, which can be completely random. But the act of noticing helps us exercise that inner muscle and see more going forward. 

Here are some things I noted on day one during my work commute on the train:

-Most people’s heads were down, looking at their phones.
-A teenage boy had his basketball shoes untied and seemed unbothered by it. I also noted how the untied laces touching the train floor gave me the ick. 
-A man standing on the train was reading an art history book with black and white images.
-I’ve been reading a new poem each day, and this one poem was about loss and how we hide our grief in the shadows of our smiles. #deep

Pet Pics: 

Lilo being a brave little pup as she gets her annual shots. Don’t worry, she got extra cuddles. 

​Amelie soaks up a little sunshine (and superiority) from her window perch. 

Garden Update:
Our lemon and grapefruit trees have no chill and produced a lot of fruit this month. At first, I wasn’t thrilled about grapefruit—I didn’t eat it growing up. But now in my ripening years,  I’ve developed a taste and enjoy them without any added sweetener. No judgment here if you like a little sugar on yours, lol. 

Jon got me into this podcast called Ologies, with Allie Ward, where she interviews experts on everything from black holes to apples to near death experiences. Every episode is fascinating and super engaging (Allie is such a funny host!). I’m always looking forward to learning from Allie and her team. 

She also has “Smologies,” which are shorter, kid-friendly episodes for younger audiences. Please check it out, and challenge yourself to listen to something you know nothing about. As you listen, the episode will suck you right into that wonderful rabbit hole of curiosities. 

That’s all for today. Thank you so much for reading! I’ll be in touch again soon. 

Feel free to share this little newsletter with your friends! :)

Take care,
Desi