Ordinary Blessings & A Pride and Prejudice Re-telling: Small Joys in March

As I write this blog, the world outside my window is still very wintry. There is ice in the backyard that seems determined to stay locked on the ground, and a light snow has been falling most of the night. It’s hard to believe that we are in the final days of March. Spring always comes—this I am told, but this Montana winter seems to be endless, and I’m running low on optimism most days. Still, there were bright spots in the past month, small moments of beauty and light, of comfort and happy entertainment. Two that stand out:

A surprise book that arrived in the mail. Early in March, I opened an Amazon package with a book inside that I didn’t remember ordering. It was a gift from my mom! (As a side note—I love the idea of sending people surprise gifts in the mail, when you come across something you think they’d like. I want to do this more often.) The book is called The Lives We Actually Have: 100 Blessings For Imperfect Days, by Kate Bowler and Jessica Richie, and it is a collection of prayers or “blessings” that focus on all the ordinary, challenging aspects of life. Some titles include: “For when the stress is getting ridiculous,” “For when you can’t sleep,” and “For when you’re feeling grouchy.” My husband and I have started choosing a blessing at random before dinner each night and reading it out loud as our dinner grace. There are so many beautiful messages in these prayers, and I’ll also write snippets from favorite ones on our kitchen white board.

Here’s an excerpt from the blessing entitled “For waking up to life again” (this one struck me especially as this winter has me limping along, and my body is craving soft air and sunlight):

“Winter’s long frost is over, new ground has appeared, and paths too we didn’t know were there. Blessed are we who need help waking up to the music, the movement, and the color of living, who need help trying on joy for a change. The wonder of the daffodil, the mystery and power of the tiniest seed, cracked open and sprouting new life, reaching, in it’s own time, toward the light. Blooming. Blessed are we who say, Wake me too, God. Put me where beauty and love can reach me. I’m ready for something new.”

One other small joy of March was listening on audio to the book Eligible, by Curtis Sittenfeld. This is a modern re-telling of Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, which, in case you’re unfamiliar, is a story of romantic comedy and miscommunication centering around the Bennet family. The five Bennet daughters are living with their parents in Cincinatti in this version of the story, where they are trying to help their father after a health scare. Liz Bennet, the protagonist, meets Fitzwilliam Darcy at a potluck one day and instantly detests him, but of course this will all change. Jane, Liz’s gentle older sister, meets Chip Bingley at that same potluck, and the two quickly fall in love—but of course, things happen that get in the way of that love (I don’t want to spoil the story, so I won’t go into too much detail). One of the funny side-plots in Eligible is that Chip Bingley is famous for being the former star of a Bachelor-type reality show called “Eligible.” The other Bennet sisters—Kitty, Lydia, and Mary—provide plenty of humor in the story as they are, to varying degrees, oblivious to the more serious dilemmas faced by the Bennet family. They are more focused on CrossFit, nail art, and secrets of their own to be bothered with aging parents, money problems, and the romantic lives of their older sisters.

I really enjoyed listening to Eligible—the chapters are funny and quick-moving, and the narrator did a great job bringing Liz Bennet’s wry, observant, honest voice to life.

What were some simple joys for you in March? I’d love to hear from you. Leave a comment below, or send me an e-mail at fridayjoyblog@gmail.com.

Thanks, as always, for reading.

-Beth