June Obsessions

Québec strawberries, poolside wishes, books and Buffy forever

I’m at the tail end of a two-week vacation and I have been doing exactly what I wanted: writing and nothing. Nothing means lying in bed in the afternoon, picking up strawberries at Jean-Talon Market, taking over the family TV for another rewatch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

“Not Buffy again!” my kid protests. “I’ll go watch my show on the iPad then.”

“That won’t be possible,” I say, the remote in one hand, a bowl of strawberries in the other.

“Why not?”

“Because when I was little we only had one TV and I think we should pretend it’s the nineties again.”

“It’s 2026, Mom!” he lifts his arms, exasperated. “We can all watch what we want!”

“True,” I reply. “Did you know I was your age when I discovered Buffy? It’s time you learned a thing or two from the chosen one, she alone who stands against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness?”

“I’ll just go play with my friends outside.” He grabs a hockey stick and walks out.

There’s a part of me that feels guilty about not planning fun family summer activities during my time off. My kid is on summer break too. Shouldn’t I ensure he has the best summer ever? Shouldn’t there be outings that involve sunscreen, lakeside picnics and catching frogs? Endless afternoons in the sun, with ice cream cones dripping down our wrists? Sand between our toes, freckles appearing like stars on our cheeks?

I’m tired. All I can muster is a quick dip in the neighbourhood pool after lunch. It’s not nothing… but I am determined to protect my creative energy and writing time at all costs—which isn’t easy with a full time job, a family to take care of, a book manuscript to hand in this fall. I will not be fun summer mom. I will be a mother, no less.

“You’re not selfish,” I repeat to myself over and over again. I suspect those feelings stem from societal programming around how a woman and artist should be.

The pool at Jarry Park is surrounded by mature trees that provide the right amount of shade in the afternoon—we always place our towels on the west side of the baby blue basin. It’s where I hide from the sun. A minimalist mid-century modern building houses the changing rooms and lifeguard headquarters. The lifeguards, bless those youngsters, blast music from a large speaker, revealing their fondness for Katy Perry songs.

We wade in the deeper end of the pool and come up with three wishes to ask a genie, should we ever meet one. Mine involve a bi-continental lifestyle with a London flat and his involve a gazillion dollars to buy all the video games in the world. We lie on our navy towels to dry off and walk home, passing a man playing “Comptine d’un autre été, l’après-midi” on a street piano. A song from Le Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain movie soundtrack that translates as song from another summer, afternoon.

That’s when it hits me. Maybe the neighbourhood pool and playing hockey with your friends in the back alley while your mom writes and watches Buffy is more than enough.

Indeed. It’s more than enough.

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Obsessions of the month

READING

1. I loved Arizona O’Neill’s debut graphic novel memoir, Opioids and Organs. It’s about the author+illustrator’s experience of donating her father’s organs, grief, and exploring the link between the opioid crisis and the organ donation industrial complex. A dark, strange, funny and touching read.

2. I’m reading the new David Sedaris essay collection, The Land and Its People. It’s classic Sedaris: hilarious, self-deprecating, tight. The other night I was reading in bed while W was falling asleep. I chuckled and when he turned over to ask me what was funny, I answered: “A joke about crucifying the Queen.”

WATCHING

3. Currently watching Season 2, Episode 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy is in love with Angel and Spike recently crashed into Sunnydale with his bleached hair and extra long leather coat and I have a crush.

LISTENING

4. Paula Cole’s “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” on repeat. Satirical perfection.

EATING

5. Québec strawberries, of course.

6. But also CARDAMOM BUNS. Two summers ago, when W and I were packing up our London flat, we decided to take advantage of Europe’s cheap flights one last time before moving back to Montreal and booked a trip to Copenhagen. That’s where we tasted the most delicious cardamom buns and I have been craving them since. I recently came across a local micro-bakery called seizon that specializes in cardamom buns and guess what? They’re fresh and delicious and I can’t wait to order more.

If you live in Montreal and want to taste them too, keep your eyes peeled for seizon’s next drop on Instagram.

As always, thank you so much for reading, and thank you for the kind words regarding last month’s book deal announcement. I’m two-thirds into my manuscript and the next two months will be busy as I pour all my focus into that project. I’m hoping to write to you in July, but if you don’t hear from me, know that I am working hard on my book and can’t wait to tell you all about it.

Have a wonderful day and talk soon.