Day Seventy-Nine, Eighty, Eighty-One: A Hot Start To Summer
This week has been a heavy one. Early in the week Trump used police and military to clear peaceful protesters from a street near the White House so he could pose by St. John's church with a Bible for a photo op. The resulting pictures of him holding said Bible is a sick joke. He honestly looks like he doesn't know how to hold a book. He certainly is not holding it the way anyone who loves the Bible would. I am Buddhist, not Christian, so I am not a Bible person, but I am a book lover. I hold my cookbooks with more reverence than he's holding his prop. I know this is a small detail in that whole debacle, the larger ones being the use of military force, including tear gas and helicopters, on peaceful protesters to clear the way for this stunt, but it just makes it so clear he's a fraud (as if we needed more proof). He's holding the book like it might bite him. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if it did at this point. Or at least burst into flames.
It is hard to balance just living in the moment with my little family in the woods (which my white privilege allows me to do) and constantly checking the news or social media for what is happening next. I am so glad that the protests are bringing so much violence to light for so many who didn't fully appreciate what was going on throughout the country. I am hopeful that it will lead to positive change. Already some small changes have happened - George Floyd's murderers have been charged, confederate statues have come down, awareness has spiked. Other murders of black people like Breonna Taylor and Ahmed Arbery are actually being investigated. I see people calling out for white people to support black owned businesses, to fight for reparations, to read books by black authors, to get busy bettering ourselves to work as allies. There is hope. But living in rural Arkansas, I also am well aware of how much education still has to happen in order for the message to truly sink in. Via social media, I have learned that several leaders at the elementary school here are not nearly as sensitive to and understanding of these issues as they should be and I am deeply concerned.
Life has to go on, though. The kids remind me of this about every ten minutes. They only know bits and pieces of what is happening. I'm sharing with them a little bit so that they learn not to be racist white kids, but I don't want to overwhelm them. This week it's finally started to feel really summery, with 90 degree temperatures in the afternoons. Day Eighty-One was a milestone: Jeremy's Aunt Kathy opened her pool and we took our first swim of the summer. It rained in the morning and there were tears when the kids thought we weren't going to be able to go (we've been counting down to this day on the calendar for a month at least). But after lunch the sun came out, and we gathered up our stuff and had a "parade" over to the pool across the road. Taiya made Jeremy wear a silly hat (I'm sorry I didn't get a picture, it was so funny), she and William rode in their red wagon waving to the trees like they were the crowd and I walked behind with a basket of snacks singing a marching band song. It was a welcome way to escape our routine. I've discovered that novelty is super important to maintaining sanity. We may not be able to go anywhere, but we can still find novelty in other ways. I bought a family-sized camping tent and it came in the mail on Day Seventy-Nine. So of course we had to set it up and sleep in it that night. The kids get so excited at any new thing. The new bed, the new tent, the boxes the tent came in... it doesn't really matter what it is, as long as it is different.
So we've made it past the 80-day mark, and we're just going to keep on trucking. Summer is unfurling and it's going to be a hot one.
It is hard to balance just living in the moment with my little family in the woods (which my white privilege allows me to do) and constantly checking the news or social media for what is happening next. I am so glad that the protests are bringing so much violence to light for so many who didn't fully appreciate what was going on throughout the country. I am hopeful that it will lead to positive change. Already some small changes have happened - George Floyd's murderers have been charged, confederate statues have come down, awareness has spiked. Other murders of black people like Breonna Taylor and Ahmed Arbery are actually being investigated. I see people calling out for white people to support black owned businesses, to fight for reparations, to read books by black authors, to get busy bettering ourselves to work as allies. There is hope. But living in rural Arkansas, I also am well aware of how much education still has to happen in order for the message to truly sink in. Via social media, I have learned that several leaders at the elementary school here are not nearly as sensitive to and understanding of these issues as they should be and I am deeply concerned.
Life has to go on, though. The kids remind me of this about every ten minutes. They only know bits and pieces of what is happening. I'm sharing with them a little bit so that they learn not to be racist white kids, but I don't want to overwhelm them. This week it's finally started to feel really summery, with 90 degree temperatures in the afternoons. Day Eighty-One was a milestone: Jeremy's Aunt Kathy opened her pool and we took our first swim of the summer. It rained in the morning and there were tears when the kids thought we weren't going to be able to go (we've been counting down to this day on the calendar for a month at least). But after lunch the sun came out, and we gathered up our stuff and had a "parade" over to the pool across the road. Taiya made Jeremy wear a silly hat (I'm sorry I didn't get a picture, it was so funny), she and William rode in their red wagon waving to the trees like they were the crowd and I walked behind with a basket of snacks singing a marching band song. It was a welcome way to escape our routine. I've discovered that novelty is super important to maintaining sanity. We may not be able to go anywhere, but we can still find novelty in other ways. I bought a family-sized camping tent and it came in the mail on Day Seventy-Nine. So of course we had to set it up and sleep in it that night. The kids get so excited at any new thing. The new bed, the new tent, the boxes the tent came in... it doesn't really matter what it is, as long as it is different.
So we've made it past the 80-day mark, and we're just going to keep on trucking. Summer is unfurling and it's going to be a hot one.
 |
| Happy kids, still learning to swim. They're doing well with the floaties, but still don't like putting their heads underwater. |
 |
| This tea message reminded me to reach out to friends when things get tough. Always a good idea. |
Comments
Post a Comment