week in the life | 2016

I just wrote an entire blog post which, upon it's completion, I mistakenly deleted. It was a shit! shit! shit! moment and I cannot bear to rewrite the words I so carefully crafted. So here is the gist...I'm participating in Week in the Life albeit in a different sort of way. The science geek in me wanted to explore how the senses and memories intersect. I will be using this as a means of documenting over the course of the week honing in on a specific sense each day.

What I heard

Monday will be about the soundtrack of my day.  The sounds of music, podcasts and conversation. The birds tweeting, Ronin’s playful bark and the sounds of my fingers tapping away on my keyboard.

What I saw

Tuesday will not only be about how I see, but how I perceive. What I see in the backyard, what I watch on TV, what I read, what I see in the mirror, on my computer screen and through my windows...and how I perceive what I witness.

What I touched

Wednesday will be devoted to the tactile details of my life...the warmth of my bed in the morning, the heat of my coffee cup, the feel of Keith’s hands and Ronin's fur... all the things I touch and that touch me throughout the day.

What I tasted

Thursday will be about the flavors of life, some of which are so familiar they stir up memories of childhood. The taste of coffee, of my favorite breakfast, of strawberries...the tastes that are specific to this season and our home.

What I smelled

Friday is dedicated to one of my most powerful senses...that of smell. I want to document the smells in my life right now. What perfumes I am wearing, my shampoo, the flowers blooming in my neighborhood, the smell of dinner cooking...these things are fleeting and I want to capture them.

The next two are not senses per se, but it seemed appropriate to include them.

What I felt

Saturday will be for feelings. That sounds funny since everyday will be about feelings, but I will actually focus on how I feel during this season of life, about the election, about where I live and how I’m spending my days.

What I dreamt

What better day than Sunday for dreaming. I think dreams are so significant and tell a story of where we are in life. My dreams today are so different than the ones I had ten years ago. I want to document my dreams at this moment. What I want, what I hope and what I believe.

As you might have noticed, I didn’t really mention photos.  I have chosen to make this less a project based on images and one based on words. Years from now, when I look back on this, I want to leave myself room for imagining. I want to try and flex my muscle memory through my senses. I will take and include some intentional images, but that won’t be the heart of this...I will be the heart. My words, my stories. That’s it.