On Rituals, Trips, and Good-Smelling Soaps

In other words, navigating my new normal

Photo by Aurélia Dubois on Unsplash

Today I purchased a bar of soap at a local grocery store. Not just any bar of soap — but a bar of the pure castile, “not tested on animals” kind.

This is clearly not the most mind-boggling or exciting fact in the world, but for me, it’s new. It’s different. It’s me venturing into something I don’t…