The Creative Nest

Does anybody else ever ask a very specific question and then receive an answer so painfully obvious that you immediately regret opening your mouth? Because I swear some people respond to questions like they’re being paid by the word but penalized for useful information. For example, if I ask, “Which cars get the best gas mileage?” I am not looking for someone to confidently respond with, “The ones that use gas.” Oh wow. Incredible. Groundbreaking information. Thank you so much for that beautiful contribution to society. I had no idea gasoline was involved in gas mileage. Next thing you know, someone’s going to tell me tires are round. And somehow these kinds of answers happen everywhere. In emails. At work. In casual conversation. Online. You ask a direct question hoping for a direct answer, and instead you get something so vague and unhelpful that you actually end up with less information than when you started. It’s like people hear the question, panic internally, and then just throw ...

The second the weather gets nice, does anybody else suddenly feel personally attacked by their own house? Like why is it that the moment the sun comes out and there’s a slight breeze, my brain decides I should repaint furniture, reorganize closets, plant flowers, wash the car, deep clean the house, walk the dogs, power wash something, and somehow become an Olympic-level productive human being all before 2 p.m.? Meanwhile, during winter, I considered getting off the couch twice a major accomplishment and called it “self-care.” And heaven forbid you sit down for five minutes when the weather is beautiful outside. Oh no. Suddenly the guilt creeps in like, “You should be doing something productive.” Why? Why can’t I just sit outside with a coffee and stare dramatically into the distance like a retired movie star with absolutely no responsibilities? But instead, I end up outside looking at random things thinking, “You know what this yard needs? More work.” It’s honestly exhausting how quick...

There is a fascinating phenomenon that happens in families where two siblings can grow up in the exact same household and somehow turn into completely different human beings. Same parents. Same rules. Same dinners. Same traumatic attempt at assembling furniture together. Yet one sibling grows up responsible, emotionally aware, and capable of apologizing, while the other acts like they were raised by raccoons behind a gas station dumpster. As the eldest sibling, I obviously say this with deep scientific authority and absolutely zero bias whatsoever. People always love to say things like, “But you grew up the same!” Did we though? Because from where I stand, being the oldest child meant being the unpaid intern of the family. We were the test subjects. The emotional support humans. The built-in babysitters. Parents practiced on us like they were trying to assemble IKEA furniture without instructions. By the time the younger siblings arrived, the rules got softer, the punishments got shor...