I pay attention to small snippets of language swirling in the air around me. I take these bits into my brain and heart and weave them together to see what clues they might offer about how my fam and I are doing, in the aggregate.
So, today I'm experimenting with something new in Julie's Pod called "Overheard" which features language snippets in free verse. Today's snippet topics range from animal noises to broken appliances; grown kids and aging moms; trysts, taxes, grocery shopping, and migraines; and a little thing called our relationship. Without further ado, overheard in my house recently...
_____
Shit I overslept
I couldn’t sleep
wshooo! wshooo! wshooo!
That noise
It's your mom, the crows are back
No, it was this awful wailing
Her washing machine should finally come in this week
We need a chicken
I think it’s a cat.
***
Your phone buzzed
The dishwasher’s backordered
It's your mom
I think it’s in heat
How long?
Did you hear that
What, my mom?
One of us needs to go shopping
The dishwasher, it’s backordered ten months
It’s like a small child saying a long drawn out "ow"
***
I'm going to the store
I need to get with my mom
Wait, how long?
Is it in heat or is it fighting
Can they get us a loaner?
No wait mom, don’t open that email
I need your 1099s
I’ll come over and walk you through it
Did you get paid for that yet
They don’t “have your number” it’s just spam.
***\
Shit I meant to get chicken
There are two cats in some kind of I don’t know what to call it in the yard
He's still home?
I thought we might
We could
Yeah but he’s
I think he’s going out
I need to take this, it’s my mom
I’m going over to mom’s
She needs
Avery texted me
My mom?
My mom
Oh, your mom
How is she?
We FaceTimed on the way back to her dorm
But I wanted to FaceTime
I thought you were on a call
***
Can I come in
Are you on a call
I just took a migraine pill
I’ll make chicken
Oh my god that fucking cat
I thought we already had chicken
If he goes out tonight we could
Didn’t you see my text when you were at the store.
***
Are you home
Yes
The washing machine doesn't fit
Why didn't you tell me you were home
I didn't want to bug you
It's just the last time you talked to your therapist it turned into a thing and I've been worried for hours
We have to take off the closet doors
She’s going to sew curtains for it.
***
Did he leave
I think so
Are you sure
Yes
***
Wait. I just heard something downstairs, can you check?
_____
And there you have it. The word of the day, for reasons that I think are obvious, is “caterwauling.” 🙀 If you feel like sharing some language from your life, please comment below or wherever you're reading this!
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🤎 Let's leave the caterwauling to the cats and go for direct and honest communication with one another!
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📸 Cover Photo Credit: Getty Images/C.J. Burton/The Image Bank
