Rachel Fleishman: The Everyday
Selected Excerpt
“The everyday, lately, has been uneven. Our house lost power. The dog injured her leg. My husband has shingles. My employer is bankrupt. My father-in-law tore his aorta. And yet the everyday is still there. Oatmeal, tennis balls, Elephant & Piggie. I am fixated on presence, on the quiet moments between the doing. The dog pressed heavy with sleep against my shin while I write. The coffee cold with too much milk. The uneven echo of my older son dribbling a basketball in the driveway.”
Discussion Questions
What stands out to you in the description of “the everyday”?
Fleishman writes, “living is how she rebels, how she heals.” In what ways can everyday living be a form of rebellion and healing?
How do you plan to honor the ordinary and the everyday?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
“It struck me how the beauty of the everyday isn’t about turning lemons into lemonade, but rather daily traumas or tragedies into sawdust. Breaking it down to its most base components and letting it dust in the wind, allowing you to move to the next day unimpeded.” —@amarkelkar
“Every time I read this essay, a new sentence stands out in its simple perfection. I feel like I can hear the uneven echo of the basketball in the driveway.” —@rebeccacgk
“How the author says she is -fixated- on presence. It made me realize I love these moments but don’t soak them in. Usually the pouring of coffee is a “to do” but it is something I love when I slow down and it is an experience, not a means to an end.” —@RobertBeckerMD
“Writing is one way I choose to seize the world around me each day, to grasp on to this lived experience with arms outstretched and fingers clasped tight.” —@trishakpaulmd
About this #MedHumChat
“The Everyday” was paired with “The Patience of Ordinary Things,” a poem by Pat Schneider for a #MedHumChat discussion April 7, 2021 on Honoring the Ordinary.
The pieces for this chat, as well as the discussion questions, were curated by Rebecca Grossman-Kahn (@rebeccacgk) and Trisha Paul (@trishakpaulmd).
About the Author
Rachel Fleishman is a neonatologist as well as a wife and mother to two boys who writes about the intersection of her professional and personal life.