This Week in Grief and Media: 4/29/24
LOVE ALL (tennis jargon, you wouldn't understand), brussels sprouts, locked in menace and Lisa Frankenstein
Welcome back to another week of This Week in Grief and Media. This newsletter caught me at an interesting time when all I can think about is tennis. I played for the first time in 14 years on Wednesday afternoon, then again Wednesday evening, then again Thursday evening, then again Saturday for like three hours. I would play again today (Sunday), but I have no one to play with. In a previous attempt to play alone by hitting a ball against a wall, it instantly went over and is now lost forever. I only have two balls left, and I bought a pack of three Wednesday morning. But I’d like to think I’m actually really advanced for an absolute beginner.
I’m certain this isn’t something I’m fixating on for the time being, but I guess you can ask me again in one to three months.
I somehow got roped into being part of my 10-year-high-school-reunion party-planning committee. (When I say roped in, I mean I fully volunteered. I wanted to ensure that it happened. And I wanted to ensure I had control (could see who RSVP’ed.))
I joined a Zoom call with the committee, many of whom I haven’t spoken to since 2014. We all gave a little summary of what we’ve been up to the past 10 years, something I struggled with considering about a third of that time was spent losing and/or grieving my mom. And most decisions I made these past 10 years had to do with my parents in some capacity—I went to San Diego State for college because my parents wanted me to be close to home and my dad just died; I moved back to San Diego after living in Los Angeles because I missed my mom; we moved as a family to New England after my mom was diagnosed with cancer; I got married, out of love obviously, but we did it earlier than planned because I couldn’t stand for Jack to not be my legal family another second, and life forever feels too short to not make sure everything happens this very second.
While typing this, I’m afraid I’m making everything sound so cynical, when it’s just the fact of the matter at hand. I love my life, and I’d make these same decisions every single time if given the opportunity. But I’m not sure how to present these last 10 years in a succinct package, because each life moment is through a lens of grief—first came the sunglasses that signified losing my dad, then the sunglasses for losing my mom, with the addition of sunglasses for both of them not being here, because it’s honestly three separate conversations we’re talking. There’s a lot to look through.
So when it was my turn on the Zoom call, I lead with the anecdote that I made some brussels sprouts in my new air fryer that tasted mostly good but kind of okay. Because what else am I supposed to say?
I can’t stop listening to Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso. It’s incredible.
The second she released Nonsense, Sabrina should have known she’d have a stan for life. I’m obsessed with the whole Emails I Can’t Send album and was confused why the whole world wasn’t, too. I’m glad she’s getting the recognition she deserves.
Espresso is THE song of the summer, btw. “I’m working late, ‘cause I’m a singerrrrr” is going to hit so hard when I fail to sing the proper notes while at karaoke.
In other news, I’m also really captivated by this meme, in a way I’m not sure if I can explain given I tried to block out most of my U.S. history knowledge after miraculously getting a 3 on my APUSH exam.
Perhaps it’s because I’ve always considered myself to be a Locked In Menace but never had the language to say so prior.
Because I can’t keep a secret, I’m having some exciting conversations in the next couple of weeks for one GRIEF AND MEDIA podcast. More to come in the next month.
Otherwise, catch up on my first essay, #1: Honestly, who am I?, and check out the media database.
I finally watched Lisa Frankenstein last week, and it was even better than I thought it would be. I love coming-of-age stories, and I love horror-comedies, so already I was sold—but I had no idea the story also centered around the main character grieving the loss of her mom. Overall, it was fun. And I love having fun.
That’s it for This Week in Grief and Media. Please consider sharing the GRIEF AND MEDIA PROJECT with a friend. It would mean the world! <3
Don’t forget to join the conversation in the comments or the subscriber chat! I’d love to hear about your week in grief and media.
