We're Playin' Basketball

Basketball is a family thing for me. When I watch it, I think of my dad, my coach for years, and how he played against and coached others. My whole family played basketball at one time or another. Growing up, I would join my sister and dad as they practiced out front in the driveway after dinner. It was a nightly ritual. At the time, I may or may not have been on a team, but I would be out there with them, learning new techniques of how to guard someone and trying to inch my way back to successfully make a three-pointer. I also learned how to quickly recover after getting smacked in the head with a basketball.

In these practices, I learned that the best form to have while shooting is by holding the basketball in your dominant hand like you would hold a pizza box from the bottom. Then, you’d gently rest the ball on the side with your other hand. When you go up to shoot, only your prominent hand shoots up. As far as dribbling goes, I apparently had a difficult time not looking at my hands (please see the photo above, so my dad got me these goggles to put on my face to keep my hands out of sight. They honestly really helped me, and hey, I looked cute too.


I mean, look at me. Look at that smile. It’s pretty evident that I love the game, and the game loves me.

I remember one game in particular with my first co-ed team. (Don’t worry, I did not wear those dribbling goggles in actual practice or during games.) I don’t know what got into this girl, but once she grabbed the ball, she held on for dear life and took off up and down the court. The referee had to blow the whistle, and my dad explained how traveling was against the rules of basketball. He was very sweet with her even though traveling was an obvious no-no, and it was evident that he was the dad of all girls. He had to put up with our emotional outbursts, constant fighting (looking back now, the fact that we ever fought is hilarious because we’re all very close now), and other things that happen in an all-girl household. He was a quiet but sweet and calming guy, and any amount he opened up to you seemed like a gift because he didn’t do that for everyone.

My dad as a high school sophomore on his basketball team.

My dad was just the coolest basketball player. I think it’s pretty obvious where I got my style from when our pictures are side by side.


I’ve always been interested in seeing basketball games live. I always thought, If I’m going to see any sport live, it’ll be basketball. Football or baseball? I could care less. Basketball is something that I knew the rules to, and it’s something I enjoyed doing with my dad. However, I stopped playing basketball after my dad died. He passed away when I was 12, so I only had elementary and middle school years’ worth of basketball experience, but it was enough to instill the rules and love for the sport. I’ve lived in Oklahoma since I came here for college, and I only went to my first OKC Thunder basketball game last year with my friend Ann (see picture). From that one game, I became hooked. As one might have guessed (as well as my friends), I am a big Josh Giddey fan. He is the Australian/Oklahoman/basketball-playing Timotheé Chalamet the world needs. Maybe one of these days I’ll get close enough seats to be able to take a close-up of my boi. But that will be the day that I physically melt on the shiny wood floor of the court and embarrass the hell out of myself. My other favorite players are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Lugentz Dort, Tre Mann, and Jaylin Williams. Which Jaylin Williams, you may ask? All of them. I love my Thunder boys. Each game I go to is a bit bittersweet—I always think how much my dad would love to join me to watch my new home state’s NBA team play, and I think of how happy he would be for me for finding so much joy in these games.


Reagan Fleming

In my Lizzie McAlpine era

If you’re anywhere near my age of 27, you know who Lizzie McAlpine is. I have gotten into a singer-songwriter cycle where I listen to Lizzie and Gracie Abrams and pretend that I’m in some Indie movie where I couldn’t be bothered to have a love interest. I could groove and jam out to ceilings for hours on end. Some of Lizzie’s songs—Doomsday, for example—can get me in my emotions a little too much, and boom, I’m in a slump. “I would’ve married you if you’d have stuck around” at the bridge does exactly what a bridge should do: gut you. McAlpine is a wonderful songwriter, and I can’t get enough. However, sometimes I need to get out of my deep and oftentimes depressed emotions for a bit and consciously think of things that I am thankful for. So, let’s do that little exercise together:

Things I’m Thankful For:
1.
Harper — my dog. She is my pride and joy, and I audibly tell her and others this many times a day.
2. My friends — I live with some of my best friends, and I’m within walking distance of others. Even though it takes me a little bit to let my walls down and accept help/love from others, I know that they’ll be there for me when I need it.
3. My family — My mom will talk me through my many mid-life crises, my sisters are always there to read my latest writing pieces and offer advice, and my little nieces and nephews just fill me up with so much joy when I see videos and pictures of them.
4. My job — I’m finally in a job that I enjoy and am grateful for. I work with some fun characters, and it’s a lot of clerical work which is weirdly lovely.
5. I’m not in a reading slump (currently).

Readers, try that. Think of 3-5 things that you’re thankful for. I promise that it’ll do some good.



Reagan Fleming

Get Ready with Me

Why are these “Get Ready with Me” videos so relaxing? Why do I get lost in the cycle of random people or celebrities getting ready to start their day and do their skincare/haircare routine? Don’t get me started on those “Bedtime Routine” videos too.

Picture college-aged Reagan on her dorm room bed, watching Glossier video after Glossier video of models and Glossier employees getting ready with a video camera pointed at them. I have watched every single Glossier GRWM video, and I am not ashamed to say it. There’s something about watching people verbally go through their skincare routine and have you watch them do it. Lord knows I won’t do 8 out of the 10 steps that they do, but it’s fun to watch. I remember one day, I was watching some GRWM videos in my dorm room, and my roommate went out to go eat with some friends. And by the time she came back, I was in the same spot watching the same type of videos. (Awkward smiley emoji.)

Fun fact: I did, in fact, take a break just now to watch a few GRWM videos. Sue me!


Since I find any type of “Get Ready With Me” or “A Day In the Life” videos and articles so intoxicating, I thought I’d include A Day In the Life of Reagan Fleming. I hope it’s as therapeutic for you as it is for me!

〰️

prepare to be relaxed as hell

〰️ prepare to be relaxed as hell


6:30 - Wake up to my alarm and cuddle with Harper (my dog) for a few minutes.
6:45 - Make coffee, turn my curling iron on, and queue up The Office for some nice background noise.
6:50 - Put contacts in and brush my teeth.
6:55 - Do makeup while sitting on the floor in front of the mirror on the bathroom door.
7:05 - Curl my hair.
7:15 - Let Harper out to go potty, give her a dental chew, and feed her.
7:25 - Pack my lunch for the day if I didn’t already the night before.
7:35 - Get dressed for the day.
7:40 - Make myself a coffee with creamer for when I’m at the office. Sadly there’s no keurig machine, but there is a coffee pot I can use to make myself a pot of black coffee to drink throughout the day. If you can’t tell, I really like drinking coffee.
7:45 - Leave for work.
8:00 - Clock in!
12:00 - Lunch break! I usually watch a show on my laptop while I eat, and then I like to read for the last bit of lunch.
1:00 - Clock back in from lunch!
5:00 - Clock out and walk to my car! Last exclamation point!
5:20 - Get home and let Harps out. She’s usually really wiggly and ready to go potty by the time I get home.
5:30 - Make myself some type of drink (either another coffee, a beer, sparkling water, or a smoothie, depending on if I’m hungry or not) and read either outside on the porch or in one of our living rooms.
6:30 - Start making dinner. I like to play a podcast or some fun oldies music while I cook. It gets me excited about whatever I’m cooking.
6:45 - Eat dinner and watch a show, usually with my roommate!
7:00 - Continue watching shows with my roommate, but here’s when we bring out our crochet projects. I got into crocheting literally last weekend, and I’ve already made a purse, a tank top, and now I’m working on a little slouchy accessories bag. Crocheting and listening to an audiobook is a particular kind of heaven for me.
7:45 - I prefer showering at night and going to bed with damp hair like a lunatic. So, I usually shower around this time and then change into my jammies and slippies. (Aka pajamas and slippers. But I promise you will never hear me say slippers in my own home.)
8:00 - My roommate and I love making decaf coffee and reading in our living room. I could probably drink regular coffee at this point and not be fazed when I go to bed, but I fall to peer pressure and do the decaf. We usually read in silence, and Harps sometimes joins us if she’s not too squirrely at the time. If she’s antsy, I like to have her run around in the front yard to run off some of her energy. She’s the kind of dog that gets super excited when you clap and cheer her on, and that makes her run even faster.
9:30 - My roommates and I are grandmothers when it comes to our bedtime. I’m usually ready for bed at 9, but I really push myself to stay awake until 9:30.
9:40 - Get ready for bed! I have to take out my contacts first and foremost. Then, I use micellar water and sometimes a cotton pad to wipe away my makeup from the day. Next, I cleanse my skin with either the Neutrogena Hydro Boost cleanser or the CeraVe SA cleanser with salicylic acid. (Both make my skin feel incredible.) To finish off the night, I use some type of serum from The Ordinary, and no, I do not want to look up the exact serum I use purely because I’m just lazy, and I wait for that to dry. I should be using eye cream and all that jazz at this step, but I usually just do a night cream all over my face and neck and call it good. Every other day or so I like to use Vaseline on my face as a deep and intense nightly moisturizer. Since it’s still crazy cold in Oklahoma most days, I use this more often than not.
9:55 - I queue up some peaceful and calming show — right now, it’s The Office for me. For a while, it was Heartstopper, which I’ll probably (definitely) get back into in a few weeks. A few nights a week we go crazy and just not have anything on as background noise while we go to sleep. I wouldn’t say that I sleep better with no television on, but I think it’s a nice change while I prepare to shut off my brain for a few hours while I sleep.
10:00 - I let Harper out to go potty for the last time, and then we hop into bed. But! Before we hop into bed, I wrap my hair in a cotton t-shirt since my hair’s still damp, and I sleep in that. If I don’t, boom, headache in the morning.

And that’s it! If you’ve made it this far, congratulations. And I’m surprised. But, hey! You’re probably way more relaxed than you were, right? Oh, the science that is GRWM and A Day In the Life articles.

Reagan Fleming