Mundane Magic

Neighborhood bike rides & dinner on the roof

Christina and I climb up to our roof, one hand on the wobbling ladder and the other clutching ceramic bowls of pasta. This was a routine for weeks– we hadn’t yet purchased a kitchen table and it was as good a dining spot as any.

Proof of roof

We’ve since invested in a table, but we still frequent the roof at sunset for dinner or tea. Eating a meal on my roof rather than in the dining room is a small adventure in an otherwise ordinary day. Microadventures like this are a rebellion against robotic life and a refreshing reminder that you are alive and there’s magic everywhere.

I was ill-equipped to drive my dad’s disintegrating old truck across town, but I just had to have this table from someone on facebook marketplace. Where there’s a will there's a way!

I’ve been settling into post-grad life; I landed my first full-time job with a roadtrip travel company and I live in a little home in South Austin.

In fact, my parents own this house and have been renting it out for the past 20 or so years. It is the very house they moved into soon after getting married, when my mom was my age and pregnant with me. Here, my mom became a mom and I became a sister. My current bed sits in precisely the spot my crib sat when I was 2 years old.

It was here that I learned to play hopscotch and splashed in the backyard koi pond and became intensely attached to a blue crayon, which never left my fat fingers. Now I get to live here with 2 great friends, where we laugh and cook and cry and dance.

My mom and I in the backyard of my current home, circa 2002.

As grateful as I am to have a job and a home, my life lately has become exactly what I have been afraid of: routine. My job is remote and allows me freedom, but a 40 hour work week is a 40 hour work week. I take walks around my block, I go to the gym, I maintain the house. I worry about things like our broken washer and ensuring that we spray for bugs. This scares me… but it’s why daily disruptive moments are more important than ever.

I’m a strong believer that there’s always adventure right under your nose, always magic to be found in the mundane. In fact, finding adventure in your day to day– daring to spice up the routine in the name of fresh perspective and fun– is not for the faint of heart. It is one of the greatest challenges, and I feel lucky to take it on.

British adventurer and author Alastair Humphreys coined the term “microadventure". He defines it as “a shorter, simpler, cheaper, more local, more accessible version of what you deem to be an adventure. It’s something that you can squeeze in around the margins of real life.”

It can be too easy to sleep in and miss the sunrise, to eat lunch while scrolling on your phone or getting a passive task done. It takes discipline and guts to break up your routine– to run on a new trail, explore a new part of town or take up a new hobby. It all feels vulnerable in a world where many are just cruising in the comfort zone.

Doing new things (no matter how small) throughout the week helps remind yourself that life is colorful and you are capable of much.

A lot of it is simply perspective. I was chatting with one of my well-traveled friends about this topic the other day. ‘Why is it that so many serendipitous things happen when you’re abroad? Where’s that energy at home?’ we were asking. When you’re traveling, equally stoked and vulnerable and exhausted, your mindset shifts. You put everything out on the table, and you allow yourself to be uncomfortable. As a result, remarkable things occur.

It can be much more difficult to allow ourselves to feel uncomfortable and seek out the unknown within the places that we call home. In our day-to-day lives, we must do our best to simultaneously expect the extraordinary and embrace what is right in front of us.

I drive the same roads everyday, but when I ride my bike on them, they feel entirely different. Coasting down neighborhood streets under the evening’s amber light, everything is all of the sudden new and beautiful.

Biking to my climbing gym or to a nearby coffee shop is something I do to spice up the day. Driving would certainly be faster, but confined in my car I would miss the scent of trimmed grass. I wouldn't feel the kiss of the breeze– a reward for completing a tough hill. I wouldn’t stop to chat with a neighbor or duck my head to dodge a tree limb.

Other attempts to disrupt the ordinary include moonlight swims at Barton Springs, learning to make sourdough, picking wildflowers on my walks, and walking the train tracks for 7 miles to see where I end up (another story for another time).

Inviting spontaneity into your normal life is a muscle that needs to be worked. I’m no expert, but I’m keen on learning how to do it day after day. The bottom line is that the big bright world is right outside your door. It beckons you– Go see it!

With love from Austin, Tx,

From Gwen <3