Nourish/Challenge: Week 13.

This past week had a magical glow.

We went to the college where I used to teach. A professor we shared and loved was giving a reading. He remembered us. And my former colleagues seemed delighted to see me. I got so many hugs. I was worried; going back to the college was a major challenge (being my Rebecca self, feeling self-conscious about my weight, working with my limited social stamina), but it ended up filling me.

I then had two days of barely-out-of-bed depression. Mom said I'd probably spent myself. After that, I went up. I was full of energy, sleeping little, dancing, and singing. Bruce said I was "super-charged."

I finished watching a Netflix series called Maniac. It didn't do a lot for me as a story, but the cast impressed me (Emma Stone and Jonah Hill). Science fiction almost always lights up my brain.

And on Friday, we drove to Charlotte. I was ready to see my mom. I gave her a birthday stack of magazines. That's becoming a tradition.

Oliver ran wild in the fenced backyard. He played with a giant windchime that was hanging from a tree. The weather was mild, and I uncurled a little.

On Saturday, Mom and I went to Anthropologie near her house. It was inspiring as always, and a high window poured sunlight over me. I bought a small pink journal with Joie de Vivre on the cover and a mint-rose lip gloss. When Mama saw the journal, she said, "Yeah, you probably have to have that."

Later, we walked with Oliver to a nearby playground. I need to walk more! Oliver jumped in a shallow creek. I had a weird moment of forgetting what I was telling Mom. That started happening a lot when I started lithium. But this time, I couldn't do anything, and I felt out of control of my hand's making strange gestures.

When we got back, burgers were almost ready along with slightly-spicy crab dip. Mmmm.

Shane and I talked about Dear Evan Hansen. He couldn't find tickets. I fantasize about seeing DEH on Broadway along with Phantom.

James came over for a little while, and we talked about movies. He read a spooky story to me, and I was so impressed by how well he reads aloud.

We left to meet up with Dad and Michelle. Oliver's shoes and socks were wet and filthy, so we stopped at Target for footwear.

We went to Fern, a vegan restaurant. I had slightly spicy macaroni and cheese (I don't know what it was made of) with a large side of garlic broccoli. I'd go back just for the broccoli. Dad ordered me some carrot cake to go.

On the way home, I listened to DEH on Josh's big headphones. And I felt good about the life I was returning to.