Mood Ring is a newsletter on life, love, writing, and desserts written by me, an aspiring romance novelist. Great for tenderhearted souls, writers, steadfast readers, dessert lovers, and hopeless romantics.
And if you are new here, welcome! Lately, in these letters, I’ve been choosing a monthly theme to explore. In October, our theme was “Nights” and we talked about holding onto memories, what to do with doubts about your writing, making wishes at midnight, and songs that stay with you in grief.
This is the first installment of our November theme: “Patterns”
When I was a child, my grandparents had a hallway closet full of patterned blankets. These fluffy, large blankets were stacked upon each other from floor to ceiling. A tower of fluff. I think it still stands to this day. If you opened that closet door, there was a good chance one might fall on you. I remember on brisk, winter mornings when school vacation meant spending the day with Lolo, I pulled out whichever heavy, plush blanket was easiest to grab, dragging it over to the living room couch where I would watch television (I can still hear Lolo whistling tunes while he cooked in the nearby kitchen). Usually, my choice was red and beige, adorned with a beautiful flower pattern. And as I’m writing this letter, I realize I never considered what these blankets were called. I always thought of them as “the huge blankets” at Lolo’s and Lola’s. They were extremely warm. Plus, I’ve never walked past one in a Target aisle. In my mind, these blankets have always existed exclusively in that hallway closet back in California. “Some call them ‘flower blankets,’ ‘mink blankets,’ ‘ethnic blankets,’ or ‘immigrant blankets,’” Maya Salam writes for the New York Times. They don’t “have a widely agreed upon name.” And while that may be the case, they do have one thing in common: they feel like “a warm hug from an angel.”
With cartoons playing on the television, I would trace the blanket’s embellished rose pattern, and eventually, I smoothed down the grooves I created with my fingers. And as stories played out their own patterns on the screen, I would trace and smooth the flowers again and again and again. These days feel far away from me now. Patterns seemed easier when they were contained to a blanket or wallpaper or polka dot notebooks. Now patterns can be ruts, repeated mistakes, and recurring fears.
But as I consider patterns today, I think of the rhythms and repetitions of our lives. For each of us, this daily pattern is unique and personal. I love routines and to-do lists, but I’m not particularly great at sticking to them. So, maybe it’s more accurate to say I love the idea of routines and to-do lists. With that said, it’s officially November 1st and for me, that means I’m trying to create a new flow for my day-to-day writing in an effort to see my NaNoWriMo (national novel writing month) project through to the end. I thought I could plan out these next thirty days down to the minute. But I quickly realized that while I’d like to fit myself into a nice, orderly pattern with zero randomness, zero chaos, our daily patterns are not permanent. Life comes with so many variables.
Instead, I’m sticking to daily goals. How I reach them is up in the air. And that’s okay, I think. Plus, I’m trying to notice the natural patterns that I tend to take for granted in this lovely, short life. I’m working on a list of my favorite repetitions: my morning tea, my breath, the creaky wooden stairs, the mountain I can see from my porch, morning walks with my dog, the rising sun, and the tower of fluffy, flower blankets in my memories.
With love,
Alyssa
Thank you for reading!
I send a Mood Ring letter out every Tuesday. Please forward it along to anyone you think would enjoy it. And if you’d like to check in with me: alysrochwrites@gmail.com.
Mood Reads
If you’re in the mood to read a little about hope, enduring earnestness, and why these things can be hard to read, consider reading “I finally read Heartstopper” by Mel Thomas in the meltdown newsletter.
“Heartstopper is a funhouse mirror; it is the light, and the darkness is in me.”
Romance Novels & Pies
I thought it would be fun to pair my favorite romance novels with pies this month since we’re in pie season (when is pie ever not a good idea). Here’s our first pairing: Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren + Pumpkin Pie
The fact that Macy and Elliot want to spend their Thanksgiving together on the floor in their underwear is enough reasoning for this pairing.
I’m Writing . . . a completely different story than what I started with! My six-week novel workshop is coming to an end this Thursday, just in time for NaNoWriMo, and I’m leaving with a much better grasp of the story I want to tell.