The Good: Vol. 2
/What a week it's been! So much is happening that I feel like I'm living in dog years. Things I worried about last week seem quaint compared to the things I'm worried about now. My internal dialogue with myself goes like this: "How cute was I when I was worried that people weren't looking at the facts? So cute. Now, I'm worried about things like the complete collapse of our democracy!" Like most of you, I have good and bad days. Yesterday was a bad one but today is slightly better. I was texting with a friend about this and concluded that "slightly better" is the new "good."
Today, the sun is shining and I've found some good stuff beyond kitten pictures. (Yes, sometimes I just look at Emergency Kittens to soothe my soul.) So, let's get to The Good!
1. Snapchat. You read that right: Snapchat. I actually got Snapchat in March while I was at the Erma Bombeck Writing Conference but I thought it was kinda dumb. Of course, in 1997, I emailed a friend and said, "I don't really get this whole internet thing. Seems kinda dumb." Zeca has been begging for Snapchat for over a year and we finally allowed it. Trust that we have our reasons (and our rules about it). She added me and I had no idea the joy it would bring me. She sends me snaps of herself as a puppy and we take videos of ourselves as bunnies with bunny voices and it's adorable. This one is deer to me. Also makes me want to go back to mascara.
2. I made bread and it was good. Luisa has used this recipe before but we've never hand-shaped the loaves like we did this time. Zeca actually shaped the loaf and it turned out beautifully. Also tasty. I'm sure many of you have seen or even used this recipe and though the title is misleading, it is pretty easy.
Photo Credit: Vikki Reich
3. My friend, Deborah, is writing again and shared the story of taking her sons to the Women's March in Washington DC. I miss her writing and voice:
“I found myself repeating things like, “Yes, that’s a mean-spirited but totally accurate thing to say about our president.” “No, that’s not a word you can use at school.” “Yes, that woman is carrying an enormous knitted replica of a uterus and fallopian tubes … that is not an elephant.””
Give it a read!
4. I believe the children are our future. Enjoy that earworm for the rest of the day! But also take heart in this picture of a mother and her two young children in downtown Minneapolis yesterday as we gathered to stand with immigrants and refugees in protest of the ban. All are welcome here.
Photo Credit: Vikki Reich
5. And speaking of children, I am grateful to the teachers and staff of South High School for greeting students returning to school after a four day weekend (that began with the ban) with signs and song. I spoke with two teenagers on condition of anonymity who said that it was "kinda awkward" but "really sweet." Enjoy!