💭 Sometimes all we need is a warm cup of coffee and a cozy adventure
Oh no. It's that time of year again...when the kid goes back to school, and I get hit with all the germs he brings back home. This past weekend was quite a whirlwind; both my partner and my son were under the weather, leaving me in full-on nurse mode! I think my body was in adrenaline mode for those three days as I balanced caring for them both.
The good news is that my son is better, my partner is getting better, and my body is starting to relax. Which only then reveals that, actually, I seem to have caught some of the bug myself 😩
But for the first time as an adult, I feel like I've actually allowed myself to really take it easy and embrace rest. I think it also helps that my job allows me the flexibility to step back, knowing I don't have to log in or be on call. So yesterday morning, I wrapped up a call and finished a few tasks, then gave myself permission to take the rest of the day off. It felt wonderful to care for myself in the same way I've cared for my family. I picked up some medicine, stocked up on vitamins, and in the evening cooked a comforting soup for dinner (which my son said he would love to eat all night long 😂)
Instead of work, I allowed myself to escape into the wonderful world of (you guessed it...) Dragon Quest!
I played a good chunk of Dragon Quest 7 in the afternoon. Oh my gosh, it's such a good game! I'm currently on an island with "the Roamers," where they're trying to perform some sort of ritual? Honestly, I don't trust these guys much. They're a bit sketchy; something seems off. But we'll see how it goes. I know for the most part, we're safe. I've always found Dragon Quest to be a very safe story, which is why I enjoy it. I love the feeling of uncertainty... like, "Hmm, I don't know if I can trust you," but knowing that in the end, everything will be okay and everything will work out. It reminds me of the vibe in "Legends & Lattes."
I recently finished reading that. I was reading Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, because I've read the whole ACOTAR series, and Sarah J. Maas is coming out with the new book. Apparently, to really enjoy it, you should read Crescent City because it all ties together, blah, blah, blah, blah. So I started reading Crescent City, and I'm about 50% through. But that world is so bleak and dark. It feels like it's raining all the time, and it's bloody and violent and sad. I got through 50% of it, and then I was like, I need a break from this dark world. So I started reading Legends & Lattes.
It's a book I'd actually written off for a very, very long time. I remember seeing the first edition when I lived in New Zealand. I remember seeing it in the bookshop, on the shelf, with a different cover than the one it has now. I remember reading the synopsis and being like, "I like the idea of it, but I think it's going to be really boring. There's no way a fantasy book about making coffee is going to be interesting. And so I always kept putting it off, even though I knew lots of people spoke highly of it. I kept putting it off until now. I picked it up as a sort of little interlude from Crescent City, and it was exactly what I needed. Because the vibes going from Crescent City to Legends & Lattes are like being hugged in a really nice, warm embrace, with an open fire and a warm cup of coffee. The place smells really nice, and you can finally relax. That's what it felt like. So yeah, I really enjoyed "Legends & Lattes, " and if you're on the fence, thinking this is going to be a really boring book, or wondering whether you'd enjoy it if you like fantasy, I would suggest trying it. Because it's not really about the fantasy. Yes, there are fantastical elements, but I think the heart of the story has very little to do with fantasy itself. The way Travis Baldree describes coffee, food, and just coziness is perfection. So I would highly recommend it if you're looking for something to escape into, something that makes you feel like you're being hugged. And yeah, Dragon Quest is very similar to that, I think, in terms of its vibe. It really does feel like you get yourself cozy, you play through some of the adventure, your heart rate doesn't spike 😂 And it was really nice to be able to sink my teeth into it for more than just an hour, you know? Usually, I play for an hour at night, maximum, before I start getting tired. And I think yesterday I played it for like three or four hours straight. And that was nice. And I feel relaxed. And a little bit less sick. And I did not once feel guilty about spending the afternoon gaming. Which is new for me. So...growth!