the garden gives evidence every day that summer is moving right along.
Trouble is
life keeps intervening
and its hard to keep up,
emotionally, if not factually.
Even setting aside all the political nonsense
(oh please, can we set that aside!)
our individual lives provide plenty of material to focus on.
A friend has buried a 22 yr old daughter.
Another dear friend of several decades and a stalwart in our mission work
(as well as his full time work for Habitat for Humanity)
recently lost his battle to cancer and pneumonia.
A relatives journey with dementia continues unabated.
I've had another melanoma removed from my scalp
and lost part of my right nostril to a squamous cancer
(with a root that nearly penetrated into my sinus cavity)
and have had my nostril 'refashioned'.
My travails are minuscule compared to my friends
but, as I was reminded by my therapist,
"Pain isn't a competitive sport.
The fact that other people have pain too
doesn't negate the impact of yours on your life."
Either my ability to roll with the punches has taken a hit as I age
or maybe because its the cumulative weight of a lifetime of losses...
but I'm just not as 'bounce backable' as I used to be.
I'm more teary, more tired and less willing to put on a good face and be sociable.
Maybe I'm just in my hermit era!
that I'm grateful to be on this side of the sod,
as my Irish ancestors used to say
and there's still much that brings me pleasure -
even at my advanced age (76).
My grandkids and I have formed a monthly "Movie Club"
and we have a monthly sleepover and movie combo that is enjoyed by all.
I'm hip to all the animation, preteen and family friendly movies out there -
and look forward to a few handfuls of buttered popcorn -
if I can wrench the 'tub' away from them!
Our recent screening was the 3D version of The Mandolorian and Grogu.
There have been twirly dresses
and K Pop Demon Hunter socks
as the height of fashion
Images from my artist are still breathtaking
And its good to be reminded that natural beauty is still out there - if we can only keep it out of the hands of the greedy Epstein class bros!
There's a March on Washington for Voting Rights on August 28th
(sponsored by the National Action Network)
that feels important for me to participate in.
The march is in response to the major Supreme Court ruling
that weakens
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Do I as an elderly white woman in a middle class suburban town
feel MY voting rights will be compromised?
NO.
But I can't sit idly by while the right to be active participants in our democratic system
is denied to people of color and those without my economic and racial privilege.
Silence gives consent -
and I DO NOT consent.
to get through the march, but I'm going!
It helps that the Atlantic Ocean is an easy drive from Washington DC
and, since that's my North Star, I'll add a couple days seaside as an incentive.
Of course I'll need a HAT!
No more going in the sun without one for this gal.
I'll borrow a balaclava!
I'll be back before that though -
so stay tuned.
Enjoy summer in the meantime.
