• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Women's Legacy Project
  • Home
  • About
  • How To Curate
  • Our Collective Legacy
  • Writing Online Memoir
  • Blog
Women's Legacy Project > Blog > Autoethnography > Context and Little Things

Context and Little Things

Written by: Nancy Hill
Published: September 5, 2022 -- Last Modified: September 14, 2022
3 Comments

When I cannot find the “umph” for a big project I pare down my aspirations to smaller tasks. I may not get that chapter written today, but I can remember and record my thoughts, be focused and present in my interactions, and give myself credit for the little things I accomplish, feeding the birds, changing the linens, or listening to a great audio book.

A friend I share an accountability co-working group with just pointed out that summer cloistering that is common in Tucson, could be influencing me to reframe the family examinations I have already done for my memoir. I am not a swimmer, sun worshipper, or even just heat tolerant and what I do is similar to the denning people do in climates with extreme cold. If I am going to stay in my air-conditioned home, out of the sun and heat, sequestered far away from the ongoing, work-a-day world, it is no wonder that I may feel trapped or given to reconsideration of settled matters or the past.

Covid and horrific gun violence have not helped my inclination to isolate into the cool, dark recesses of buildings and my memories to lessen to any degree.

I am trying to remember good things, to focus on positive things, to be kind. I have never been one to follow trends, unless I am one of the first to do whatever the trend is, so there are no gratitude journals I have worked on. I have never been one to do something just because others are doing it. I have to find personal meaning in what I do, or I cannot maintain my motivation and soon grow to find the task or job tiresome and torturous.

Finding good in the memories of my mother is comforting but difficult. It is an exercise I want to encourage other auto-ethnographers, or memoirists to try out through the vehicle of their own lives. Find a difficult subject in your life. Figure out a way to view it from a different perspective. Ask unasked questions. Notice the first time you identify a new fact, perspective, or thought.

I am trying to remember the good things my mother did for, or with, me. It shouldn’t be a difficult endeavor. Sometimes it is.

mid 20th century window with curtains and pin cushion

She has been gone 15 years, passing in 2007. She was born in 1914. 108 years ago. As I age I am gaining a better appreciation of the hard life she lived and the anger and frustration with her life that lived inside herself that she did not know how to recognize, work through, or release.

I am glad I did not have a child in my 40s as she did. It would have made everything so much more difficult. It was difficult enough birthing a smart, sassy, boundary-pusher in my 30s.

With all the hate and violence in the world today, I am trying to force a few good thoughts through my head each day. Many of those are about things long since gone. This scares me a little bit because it then becomes easy for melancholy to set in. Walking barefoot on soft grass on the farm when I was little. It makes me smile, and then I tear up because I have an Arizona lawn that is rocks, dirt, and plants with spines or thorns, frequented by things that sting, or are venomous. There are many things that I love about the desert, but I do miss soft, green grass, and days that are not so hot and dry as to suck the moisture from my skin and soul.

I never worshipped the sun. I have always sought shade. Those recesses, nooks, and crannies of rumination may be drawing inspiration from this summer sequestration. Being aware of an integrated self helps me understand more about me, the me that is now, and the me that was then. By doing that I also can better understand the nuanced nature of others.

Perhaps other writers might find similar conducive environments in winter, or an Autumn weekend spent at a cabin in the woods. Being aware of how context can shift your perspective, and how your perspective shapes your writing, can energize you and allow you to produce even on the difficult days.

Categories: Autoethnography, How To CurateTags: environmental context, focus, influence, reframing, Seasons

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org
Previous Post: « A Month is Just a Month… as Time Goes By
Next Post: Stand and Write »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Richard Robbins

    September 13, 2022 at 11:36 am

    You might try at least taking a trip to Tennessee, especially rural middle Tennessee. The green scenery and warm personalities in the South can be refreshing.

    You might even decide to move here.

    Reply
    • womenslegacy

      September 14, 2022 at 9:51 am

      My husband actually owns land in Humphreys County. There are too many ticks, no way would I move there. Are you sweatshirts or technology vault?

      Reply
      • Richard Robbins

        September 15, 2022 at 3:47 pm

        Humphreys County is a pretty area, but they’ve had some major flooding issues recently. Ticks are annoying, but still manageable.

        I have several companies I run with my family. SweatshirtStation is one of them. TheTechnologyVault.com is my personal technical blog.

        Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Footer

Recent Posts

  • Ending, and Beginning
  • For Our Daughters
  • Stand and Write
  • Context and Little Things
  • A Month is Just a Month… as Time Goes By
  • Processing Two Very Different Deaths
  • A Dehydrated and Delusional Friend Found Wandering in 100° Heat
  • About Women’s Legacy & Hill Research
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Archives

Powered by
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
View my Flipboard Magazine.

© 2023, Nancy Hill, Women's Legacy Project of Hill Research Services, LLC

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT