I was today years old when I learned I can actually edit photos and videos on my phone. It’s built into the system. All I had to do was click Edit. And maybe explored my 2-year old phone a little instead of relying on my 6-year old to teach me about its nifty little features that allows you to layer your photos with bunny ears and cat whiskers.

Like, seriously, where have I been?

“Mama, can I pick an Alice in the Wonderland card?” she asked, interrupting my journaling.

She meant the oracle cards. A deck she likes for the big eyes and a yellow cat. She loves everything cats.

She laid them one by one on the floor, unknowingly cleansing the cards with the energy of the late afternoon sun streaming through the windows. She’d pick a card up, read its caption, and then find its meaning in the accompanying booklet. A lot of concepts she doesn’t yet understand. My explanations fall on distracted ears but I trust I’m sowing seeds of curiosity in her heart. No pressure. I’m playing the long game.

Also, this deck is hers if she wants it.

Today, I might be chapped lips and Maxidex eye drops but I’m always still grateful for the little things in life that make me happy.

Like this little corner space I created for myself since moving our bedroom back upstairs. It’s where I sit and read and wonder if my monstera is as happy to sit there as I am. I have been patiently waiting for it to fenestrate for about two years now. Either it’s a dud or I have just not been looking after it properly.

But I am now. Now that I feel like I found the perfect spot for it.

Which is why I was so upset when two of its young leaves got brutally sunburned when I forgot to put the blinds down on an excruciatingly hot sunny day. I had no choice but to snip them off. That was two days ago.

This morning, I was mortified to find that Raven tied up one of the leaves with an elastic band, as if it were Barbie hair. Again, I had to chop off the bruised and decapitated green heart.

The way things are going, my monstera’s gonna go bald soon.

*Raven at 6 years old