Intermezzo Reflections

I’ve been reading much more than usual, since we started our quarantine.  As it is, in 2019, I made more time for reading than in previous years. I managed to complete a book a week last year and already in the first half of 2020, I have completed more books than last year’s total.  I stress books completed, because I start many that I don’t finish. So with the unfinished books, my reading has drastically increased and I am not a fast reader - in most situations, I’m more of a word for word reader.  I have tried to vary my reading palate. Prior to the past few years, I was mostly interested in non-fiction.  In my young adult years, I felt that reading fiction was a luxury I could not afford myself. Not that I haven’t appreciated certain works of fiction, from time to time.  The Magus , Peace Like a River , The Handmaid’s Tale , and March , each left an impression on me. In addition, I have always loved Jane Austen, the Brontës, Gone with the Wind and Anna ...

When we quote Dr. King, it hurts, When we ask for civility, it hurts, When we praise aspects of ethnicity, it hurts,  When we are apprehensive, it hurts,  When we ask for explanations, it hurts, When we confess our white sins, it hurts, When we seek absolution for our white guilt, it hurts,  When we say we understand, it hurts, When we seek the status quo, it hurts,  What is needed is justice, What is needed is reconciliation,  What is needed is restitution, What is needed is decarceration, What is needed is deconstruction, What is needed is reconfiguration, What is needed is action, What is needed is change, What is needed is hope. Speak up!  Take a stand! Let nothing slide!  Do the work! We are not just allies, We are family.

The Plight of Imaginary Me    Having all of the extra time afforded us during our sheltering in place, I’ve come to face the truth of imaginary me and her false sense of self.  It’s not that real me is a total slacker, but imaginary me sets real me up for continuing disappointment.   Imaginary me expects that I will seize this opportunity to organize everything in my home. Real me attacks chores in 10 minute bursts (the 10 minute rule) promising myself, I don’t have to do everything, just what I can manage in those 10 minutes, and sometimes that 10 minutes stretches, but often not.   Imaginary me plans to spend hours sewing face masks and finishing ufos.  Real me has not wanted to sit at a sewing machine in months and is overwhelmed by all of the “stuff” in my sewing room.   Imaginary me is planting veggies and flowers in her garden.  Real me sits and visits on the deck, wearing a mask, 6+ feet apart from our youngest daughter, every s...