Monday’s Music

Justice for Tyre

Tyre Nichols should be here today.

Here are some words from BLM Memphis, as well as a link where you can give support to Tyre’s family.

“The video of the savage beating of #TyreNichols is expected to be released today. We at Decarcerate Memphis and Fam are holding our city in light. We also demand that all law enforcement tasks forces dissolve and stop holding our city hostage. We also demand they end the use of pretextual traffic stops, end the use of unmarked cars and plain clothes officers, and remove police from traffic stops entirely. Tyre should be here.”

Donate to Tyre’s family’s fundraiser here.

The Tuesday Currents

Is anyone else jumping ahead or thinking it’s still January 10 every day? What even is this time loop? Other than that, right now I’m…

celebrating lower blood pressure and other improving numbers. I’m crediting most of it to sleep.

watching Everything Everywhere All at Once (YES!!) and Bros (which was cute). Can we have 900 projects featuring Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan next? I love them together so much.

having a parking lot date with Indy complete with a live violinist

re-reading Rest is Resistance for book club

helping Indy with meeting logistics. This month he’s more political than I am!

surviving Zuul. Seriously. Perimenopause that still features painful periods? No thanks.

finishing up my second newsletter for work and really liking it

listening to Beyonce’s Renaissance. I have a whole list of albums that came out last year I’m catching up on. What is a must-hear on yours?

getting up in the middle of this post to have a dance party with the critters due to the last item

wrangling the kitten. OMG, I was not ready for this fuzzy toddler, and neither were my critters. She’s so sweet and cute when she’s asleep or cuddly. The rest of the day, she’s a feral beast.

wrapping up another chapter in service to open new doors. It’s exciting and bittersweet but my family is ready.

working on my Advocates Academy work and pleasantly surprised to find out that I’ve already completed many hours on my own during other classes

cleaning out little nooks and crannies and feeling more organized

drinking All the Water. Having the heat on really dries my eyes out and chugging way more than I think I need helps so much. So does using ocean water flavor.

What are you up to this week?

Monday’s Music

Reparations Friday

It’s Reparations Friday! This week we’re focusing on meeting the needs of Bookie, who has cancer. Can you help? https://gofund.me/1c93cf6a

We are also working on meeting the needs of Portia, a queer Black woman who could use some support with an unexpected expense. Pitch in here! https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8QGv9HvLW2

As always, feel free to donate to the general fund in the photo, and visit Reparations Roundtable to stay in the loop, learn more and get involved.

The Tuesday Currents

I’m currently…

still forgetting what day it is. Easy to do in the new year and extra easy on the night shift!

wondering why Spotify is suggesting a bunch of classical music and TV theme songs to me this week. My Discover Weekly is always bizarre but this might be one of the weirder ones.

listening to the mixes I’ve made with my family. Also bizarre at times.

going to the rec center again. We were the only masked folks, at least that I could see.

Cleaning, doing chores, rearranging the living room and still somehow not finished with taking down holiday stuff outside…

shopping in person with my family just for fun, in person. We all bought a treat and it was nice. I picked a store I knew wouldn’t be too crowded two hours before closing. We used to do that without even thinking. It was nice.

working on schedules, new opportunities, classes, the upcoming semester, etc.

What are you up to this week?

Monday’s Music

Things I Love Thursday

This week I’m loving…

playing Codenames with my family

our annual LOTR marathon

having a kitten in the house

the aid and support of people for one another

Astrid’s All the Black Cats. I have a tiny sample and will make it last because I’m head over feet in love with it.

The House on the Cerulean Sea. I’m so obsessed. It’s delightful. I love how Klune can create a scene with only a few words, and his tension! Gah. It’s lovely. Indy and I are reading it aloud together and I love sharing looks with him as we read.

getting rest. It’s the most underrated form of self-love and care there is. We need it as much as air or water yet it’s something so many of us just don’t get often enough.

What are you loving this week?

Bloganuary Day 5

Today is my dad’s birthday! Happy birthday, Dad!

And today’s prompt is, “What brings you joy in life?”

Someone like me who worries and overthinks even during the most joyous, connected moments in life often finds joy in the tiniest of things. Those are the moments when I’m able to really mindfully experience that joy and be deeply moved by it.

For example, I can play a game with my family and enjoy it while I’m worrying about five minutes to five years in the future–something that I’m definitely working on in my life. But I can hear my teen’s laugh or one of his sarcastic quips and just be overcome by the humor or beauty in the moment.

I can find the perfect container for my kid’s walnuts (a little clear bowl with a lid with gnomes all around it) and just sigh and feel that pure joy.

Stretching my legs and feeling the perfect temperature on my toes–not freezing or heated, both of which exacerbate their constant pain, but somewhere just right where it’s so tolerable and blissful–is a source of joy.

Sharing a particularly moving or cute or even devastating moment with my partner while we read aloud together is sheer joy.

Catching something my cat sees and sharing it with her–like the rainbow reflection of a flag off the pencil sharpener–brings me joy.

What brings you joy in life?

Bloganuary Day 4

January 4th’s prompt is, “What is a treasure that’s been lost?”

The first thing that comes to mind is privacy, which is probably a little ironic for bloggers, writers, and other regular sharers online like me. I miss being able to go anywhere without a dozen phones out taking photos all around me, and everything from Google Maps to oversharing on social media just makes me sad. It almost feels like keeping any morsel of detail about yourself TO yourself is a decadent luxury lately. And forget skinny dipping in the backyard; I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do that now. Add in the concerns about content ownership, app tracking, medical privacy and data breaches, and the lack of privacy we have today is downright anxiety-inducing.

Like anything, the tech in our lives has led to vast improvements I’m so grateful to have–while simultaneously destroying that treasured privacy we once enjoyed.

What is a treasure that you think has been lost?