you shush!!
trampolines at the scene of the crime.
Living in Jackson in my 40s after living in Jackson in my 20s is like returning to the scene of the crime… over and over. So many embarrassing moments/relationships/mishaps/interactions happened in this town, before I knew better. (okay, some happened after. okay, some are still happening.) The first winter back, I was feeling claustrophobic in Jackson and failing at life. I decided to take Marcie sledding on our local hill. There were about five other families sledding and one of them was a lost boy turned dad who I made out with a handful of times before I knew better. We nodded to each other across the hill, both bundled up and both obviously remembering the mistakes we made in each other.
So many memories are held here: hikes, hills, haunts, streets, stores, sounds even. I drove down a familiar street the other day and they had a trampoline in the front yard with a “FOR SALE” sign on it. It wasn’t one of those new trampolines with the side barriers on it to make sure no one goes ass over tea kettle off the side. This was just a plain ol’ circle trampoline in a front yard. I smiled so big, remembering…
I used to work as a graphic designer at the Jackson Hole News & Guide when I was 22 years old. I biked to work every day of the Summer of 2007. I lived with six roommates in a four-bedroom house in the hills of East Jackson. To get to work, I basically got on my bike and coasted the two and half miles to work each morning to get there by 9am. The way home was hell—biking up a low-grade hill in the harsh sunshine after no less than two post-work drinks in my system.
The thing about the morning rides is that they were so quiet and peaceful. A mountain town asleep is as close as it gets to not disturbing the surroundings—actually feeling like a part of the nature it paved over. One morning, 19 years ago, I was biking into work, and I turned down this road I was remembering, where there were two little girls on a trampoline in front of that same house there was a trampoline for sale at today. The kids were being SO LOUD, but to their credit, I was probably SO hungover.
As I got closer to the girls laughing and jumping and shouting, I did something I shouldn’t have done, but I did it before I truly realized what was happening. I loudly shhhhh-ed them. As soon as the shhh came out of my mouth, the girls stopped their joyful jumping.
Me: SHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
The Girl A Little Older Than The Other: *shocked gasp/scoff* YOU SHUSH!!
I mean, good on here for not letting some asshole 22-year-old shhh her in her own damn yard. I immediately regretted shhing them and then had to silently continue biking past them as they both sat still on their trampoline and craned their heads with their eyes fixed on me.
It became a running joke in my tight-knit friends for years. It’s still a joke Evan and I say to each other all the time. One person will shhh someone and the other will go, “Uh! YOU shush!!” and then we laugh and laugh. The scene of a 20-something doing a drive-by shhh-ing is just hilarious. It was like a short film comedy before TikTok took away all attention spans for anything more.
Driving by that same house and (seemingly) that same trampoline made me chuckle. As a woman in her 40s who wonders where her confidence went, I cringe remembering the times when my confidence was so over-flowing I kept displacing it any where I could put it. I also pictured this little girl, who must’ve been about eight years old, now 27. Did she finally decide to sell the trampoline? Did her parents say it was time or has she been trying to get rid of it for years? Did she finally break her arm just last week and thought, “Okay, it’s time to upgrade to a trampoline with barriers.” I picture me knocking on the front door to inquire about the trampoline for sale. Someone else answers the door and I state my reason for knocking. The shh-ed girl looks around whomever is at the door, sees me, and yells, “NO! Don’t sell it to that woman! She shh-ed me once while I was jumping on it!” And I shamefully nod as I say, “Fair enough” as I turn on my heel, to hop back on my bike and ride back up the hill home. You don’t get to jump if you’re the fun police.
Quick Hits:
Jam Of The Week: Helado Tropical – Tocando.
(Reyna Tropical was my breakout favorite of last year’s Treefort Fest. I am SO excited about this collab with Helado Negro.)Also, There’s New Modest Mouse.
(I get to see them again on Friday!!)These On Our Dinner Table Make Me Happy.
(Marcie picked out the color. we got them at Mountain Dandy [my favorite local store], but I couldn’t find them on their site.)I Have A Gift Certificate Here.
(I’m in a weird funk where I feel like I don’t understand any fashion, which makes me feel 5000 years old. y’all. I can’t do low-cut jeans and bucket hats again. but maybe I’ll get this dress?)This Week’s Horoscopes.
(remember to set some big-dream intentions during the new moon this Saturday, May 16th.)Wow, Perfect Gift For Music Lovers.
(I’ve customized my fair-share of mix tapes/CDs and this just feels so beautifully able to capture that specific love language.)Old Man Crush Material.
(my friend and I were talking about our “old man crushes” the other day. [aka like 15 years our senior.] I was convinced Adam Scott would be her’s. NOPE. big swing and a miss. p.s. he’s mine, but I think everyone knows that… and he’s a pretty age-appropriate crush… clocking in at six years my senior.)Wow, This Poem.
(it got me right in the feels.)Laughing At This Man Trying To Shush Water.
I love May. The weather is so great and there are tulips everywhere and the air smells of honeysuckle. It really makes the mental health struggles a little more bearable. Hey. Thanks for being here and being so awesome. We’re in this together, right? This life thing? Okay, maybe we don’t know each other that well… but I’m rooting for you.
xxo,
Rachel.
You are so back. ❤️✍🏻
Loved all of this! So much. Get the dress!! I checked to see if Madewell makes any fun and silly socks because that is something I am into now, but they do not.