moments like this.

a song to set the scene // can’t take my eyes off of you (i love you baby) by ms. lauryn hill

My Heath blizzard was balanced precariously on my spoon.

Arm outstretched towards my gem, who was singing his heart out to Ms. Lauryn Hill, I smiled in awe as the ice cream made contact with his mouth.

The windows were down, the midnight sun was setting, and it was summertime.

We had nowhere to be and nothing to do.

Could there have been a more perfect moment than this?

Even sitting here, in my denim cut-offs, window all the way open, the wind allowing my blooming lilacs to waft into this room in which I write, I can feel it: summertime.

And damn I’ve never felt so good.

It’s days like these, moments like this, that remind me why summertime in Alaska is truly one of the most spectacular places to be.

After the longest, the coldest, the darkest and most depressing winter, we were finally graced with a weekend of heavenly heat.

As I took advantage of every possible minute to be outside and soaking in the sunshine, I also enjoyed the little things that make summer… summer.

Late night drives to DQ for a blizzard, afternoon delights before work, lunch on the picnic blanket, watching my gem care for his garden, and hikes on the hillsides and mountains that surround us.

The days are filled and full of all things we don’t get to enjoy for 80% of the year.

Because for us, we’re already halfway through summer.

Summertime in Alaska is short, perhaps the shortest season of them all. So while it can pass in the blink of an eye (like how is it already end of June?), it also makes its time here that much more rich, fulfilling, and special.

In the time it takes for a Heath blizzard to drip off the spoon as it makes its way into your lover’s mouth, summer comes just as quickly as it goes.

So cherish it, take advantage of it, and please clap for the man singing his heart out to Ms. Lauryn Hill.

Cause it’s moments like that that make summer… summer.

EOB.

a song to set the scene // songs in my head by honne

My $400 medical bill sat splayed in front of me, staring at me in the face.

Now $400 isn’t a lot for a medical bill, but this was for a covid and a strep test.

I mean, come on.

Did I mention I had insurance?

Well, apparently it didn’t cover.

As I logged into my member dashboard to find out why my insurance wasn’t covering, confusing words like tiers, and claims, and deductibles blaringly read back at me.

I swear, insurance is a scam.

Do they purposefully make it confusing? Do they intentionlly explain your member benefits in fine print so you won’t find out your insurance doesn’t actually cover “urgent” visits, like covid and strep tests?

Apparently so. It was all there, detailed in my “Explanation of Benefits.”

An “Explanation of Benefits”, or EOB for short, helps you understand how much your health plan covers when you receive a medical bill.

And I guess in my particular case, urgent visits weren’t covered.

A week later, I found myself face down in a bath tub, bubbly bathwater returning my gaze in a candlelit bathroom.

I was sick, on day 4 of suffering from bronchitis.

My gem, I was finding, was showing his full colors as a wonderfully well-equipped nurse.

He had been making me tea every night, tucking me in, preparing me soup, and drawing me spa-like baths, complete with back massage.

They were all benefits of this beautifully built boyfriend of mine, and I wasn’t discovering them until now.

I learned something, sitting in that bath tub.

An EOB, which can be downright confusing especially in regards to insurance, is also sometimes best unearthed after the fact.

It’s been years since I started dating my gem, and while I’ve always known him to be… well, a jewel, this particular level of love and care struck me.

While it would be nice to know what my insurance covers (and what it doesn’t cover), my gem’s EOB was helping me understand that sometimes, it’s a greater joy to find out the benefits of your relationship along the way.

It’s a gift that I find myself continuously unwrapping.

And I just keep soaking it up.

Face down in a bath tub, bubbly bathwater returning my gaze in a candlelit bathroom.