April 22, 2021

The clouds finally clear and blue sky peeks through. Pink trees and sunshine!

week 652 ~ there comes a day the stars align

there comes a day the stars align
the sun shines down and you can smile
feel the breeze on your face meanwhile
you keep looking for any sign
to help convince you the world’s fine
breathe deeply step outside and laugh
as gloom piles up this photograph
of carefree love will carry you
awhile their dreams could make it through
and joy could be your epitaph

April 21, 2021

The solace of spring flowers.

April 20, 2021

Guilty! The relief is palpable, a collective sigh heard around the world. But even at this hopeful moment, racist police violence continues in our cities. How can the knot of twisted values, fear, and prejudice be undone? Can it be swift, will it happen in my lifetime? Or will it continue to tighten even as it slowly frays. A brief look at the rhetoric of our Republican oligarchs is horrifying– holding power above truth and justice. We are a country divided, with people of color unfairly bearing the wrath of the unrighteous minority.

April 19, 2021

I arrived home last night, without delay, and P picked me up, fresh from his second vaccination shot. Today the effects hit him hard, and I am tired from travel, from early mornings and late nights trying to squeeze as much as possible from each day of my visit. So it is a sleepy day for us, a day in abeyance, before transitioning back to our usual routine.

April 18, 2021

I am departing as this trial goes to closing arguments. Although the grandboys will go back to in-person school tomorrow, all schools will go online for the week starting Wednesday, in case of violence, if the unthinkable happens, if the evidence is ignored, if the verdict is not guilty. It is a sad thing that racism drives police to respond violently to non-violent crime, and juries to side with police against evidence. But this case has broken the blue wall of denial, and we have hope that this verdict will somehow be different, that the right thing will be done. But we also have fear that once again it won’t.

April 17, 2021

It’s a beautiful day, and a Saturday, so the wheels of computer work busyness shut down. In the afternoon we all go for a walk by the river on a beautiful day, and in the evening the other grandma comes over for a cook-out in the backyard. My visit draws to a close.

April 16, 2021

The characters from the two puppet shows S & I create and present to the rest of the family these first two days. I remember doing these shows with his older brother at about the same age. S is in charge of plot, set, cast, and I make some characters and props, as requested. Imagination is a wonderful thing! Afterwards I tape our creations to the side of the craft shelves to admire for a brief moment before they disappear, becoming part of our shared memory.

April 15, 2021

King of the playground! We have a family zoom call with N & H in France– our only way to gather these days of closed borders. It is good to see them, if only virtually, and a relief to me as mom to find my kids and their families swimming through these uncertain times with ingenuity, creativity and moments of joy.

week 651 ~ happily

happily
unwoven
from what’s me
happily
found silly
explosion
happily
unwoven