20. Spells and Incantations

Hello and welcome, I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. A podcast meant for sharing thoughts, stories, enjoying idiomatic phrases and words in general. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Today, Spells and Incantations. Opportunities to connect with others in this life are never as plentiful as one would like. So you can understand I am an advocate for jumping at and creating them. Some occasions must be hunted. Hiding how eager you are to share life over coffee or whiskey is part of a strategy to foster interaction. You don’t want to scare off your desired interlocutor. Other occasions must be jumped into, much like a big pool on a hot summer day. And, I’m not talking about an artistic and athletic controlled jump, I mean, running off the diving board, arms and legs splayed starfish style... Erratic starfish plunging and splashing water all over the place. After a few years of these episodes, I bet you can identify which I am. I am the jumper. Seductive mystery and stealth are not my strong suit, as much as I would love to think so. When Marisol proposed to meet in my town, slumber party style, I couldn’t resist. The slumber party is the cauldron and the guests doing everything but sleep are the magic. We discussed what the evening would bring. Should we do our nails? Watch a movie? I thought about appropriate pajamas and underwear for the next day. Toothbrush, toothpaste, basic toiletries, my Kindle, my laptop (in case I could get some work done on downtime), a bottle of water, and her playlist.  That was my present for her, a secret compilation of songs I had made for her over the past years. The songs that took my thoughts to her.  Marisol, the careful listener she is, considered the options on the table and then proposed we go another way when it came to the activities; a list of questions made famous on a sitcom showcasing very talented and neurodiverse characters. This proposal did not come without a warning. There is one risk in answering the questions, she explained, people fall in love with each other. So, I echoed Marisol’s words, once we know the answers to the questions, there will be no turning back. We were both in. A week, two weeks passed and finally, it was time to have our slumber party, bags were packed and expectations were high! That night, we talked about love, and life, broken hearts, bravery, the loves of our lives, the plurality, and beauty, our life’s work, our mothers, our fathers, our sisters, her babies. Movies that touched our souls and shifted our imagination. We fell to sleep and awoke several times, never skipping a beat. And then, with a nod, and knowing looks, I said the words that neither of us needed to hear out loud because we both felt and knew the answer. I asked anyway, as a way to mark the beginning. Like a spell. Are you ready for the questions? It was the perfect time, rain was pouring and the moon was out. We were surrounded by crisp air and hazy windows. Night had fallen and the elements were all there. She nodded and spoke the final phrase of the incantation, we both answer each question. We nodded and proceeded. I had the list in my hands and started asking. Over the next hours, we asked and answered only 11 questions. Actually, we never finished question 11, so I guess that is where we will pick up next time. I listened to her voice and her words. I was a little girl, holding her hand in some of the stories, being brave next to her and her next to me. Our souls were there, pure, fearless, and trusting. We played our memories for each other, describing feelings, remembering words, and recreating dialogues. [...] <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PF6J93C_qUZ3QAVgVDtmUnAo6vLXuW4mWftkMVS