Hello, Sunday.

Gosh, what can one even say about this week? This post went up and out a little later than it normal would because I sat down to write it per usual on Saturday night and I just couldn’t find the words to express what I was thinking and feeling, and wanted to say.  I still am confident that I’m not going to get it right, so I apologize in advance.

As many of you know, I grew up in a mixed-race household. My mom and I, fairer in complexion and sex, often go about our lives without much strife or harassment.  The men in my family, fully and half-brown, live(d) a different existence: harassed at the airport, pulled over without cause while driving, attacked verbally by passersby, not given full deference and consideration based on the color of their skin.  I’m not saying this to pretend that I know how it feels to be personally under attack, but I say this because I know that when I see the images on TV, that it could be my brother lying there on the ground under someone’s knee should he find himself at the wrong place at the wrong time by someone who choses to hate our particular race that day (or, what they guess our particular race to be).  And let me tell you, out of the two of us, I’m the one that you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley;  he’s a gentle giant, but as my friends know about me, don’t poke the sleeping lion.  The hate that is out there touches all of us, and we all have a duty to be informed and act because only then we can change the narrative. #blacklivesmatter

The internet is full of opinions and while mine might be one more in the shuffle of them, I wanted to use my soapbox, however meager, to voice my support to those I love.  

Much like Hermione Granger (another lion not to be poked), whenever I’m at a loss for how to move forward, I hit the books. Or in this case, the internet. This document has a lot of great information about how to be a good ally to our friends and neighbors that need our support and I’ve put some of them below.

I’ve also thrown in some children and food links because…escapism works in small doses, too. Why do you think I have a Disney Pandora channel on rotation?

White women, step in. Here’s how.

Here’s also how we can fund racial justice.

In reality, there are millions of Amy Coopers.  Case and point.

Wear your damn mask. Please.

Just because the world opens doesn’t’ mean you have to rush to go out in it. Remember that.

Also a reminder that not everyone is horrible.

If you’re like I am and chomping at the bit to jump on an airplane, here’s a travel timeline for when that MIGHT happen.

Related: The future of climbing Everest.

Also related: how to rebuild the future of travel, sustainably.

The reality of the speed for developing vaccines.

Denmark, there are giants in your woods.

Do you have a charcoal thumb like I do? Here are some things NOT to do with your new herb garden.

Is your room messy? Mine is and always seems to be. While I don’t have a chair, I do have a laundry basket that seems to serve the same purpose.

The age of innocence. At what age to people just become bad?

Meet the Davids, the cutest uncles ever, I think.

Um, whoopsy.

Finally, don’t we all just need some ice cream? Or some booze? Or maybe both together.

Be well. Be kind. 

Hello, Sunday!

This past Friday, Mom and I road-tripped to Chicago for the day to pick up my brother. It was a 12-hour day filled with McDonald’s milkshakes, Stan’s Donuts, greasy burgers and a lot of late 90s- early 2000s jams. In other words, a great time. Now he’s here for at least a few weeks to escape the city and his 500 square foot apartment for some social distancing, Michigan-style with nature walks and fewer people to try and avoid.

The long weekend seems a bit anti-climatic when every day does feel sort of like a weekend? Like a weekend with work? Anyway, it doesn’t have the same appeal as it usually does. I’m trying hard not the think of the fact that I’d possibly been in Asheville, Paris or the Canadian Rockies this weekend. Trying really hard.

Instead, we’re lounging with coffees in hand, burgers on the grill and sunshine in our faces. Perhaps a less exciting, but not bad compromise. I wish you all the good things for your extra ‘free’ day.

Here are some readings to get you through it.

Why women don’t speak.  My friends and I really aren’t the silent types, though…we still are sometimes.

Who’s ready for a trip to Japan? [Slowly raises hand]

I mean, here’s a reason to go.

Make a change, breakaway. Trust me, you’ll be happier.

I just love this. Celebrities photo-shopped with their younger selves.

What to say when your friend is struggling. Because sometimes its hard to know what to say.

Another museum challenge– this one had a few that made me laugh out loud.

The Globe may not survive!  

Lesson: Don’t mess with an angry grandma.

And finally, “one of the sad stories of this pandemic is that we’re losing people that we couldn’t afford to lose…” Here is the story of a life well lived.

Have a great week!

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