What I'm Taking Into March 2022

I looked back at the list I made at the beginning of February, and I had to laugh. Greater selectivity in paying attention to news? Such an innocent child I was a few weeks back.

But much of the rest of what I thought about holds true. 

Treats, for example. I’m loving the music I’ve picked out during the past couple of months. It's been a great way to pull me from endless doomscrolling or the vacant staring front of “news” TV, where they're quite canny about maintaining breathlessness of actual BREAKING news while showing the same interviews hour after hour.

Family: especially my sister, who drew me this monster and sent it in an envelope! That I got from a mailbox! How can I resist smiling?

Look at all its tools!!

And these general signs of hope.

Sign of hope: the bulb I got on sale and forgot about and planted anyway isn’t dead after all. Neither is my second novel draft. Sure, it’s got some throat-clearing, but I have a delete key, and I have some revision chops.

Sign of hope: I’m pretty sure that on one of the more southerly sides of the house, the snow is melting!?! I’m nervous about saying that aloud. (Not superstitious, just a little stitious.)

Sign of hope: people standing up and saying things. Saying “no” and “don’t forget us” and more “no” and “we can do many things at once” and also “hell no.”

Sign of hope: more sunshine! And the days are longer! As much as I love the night, and I love changing seasons, I am but an animal and we enjoy sunshine.

These are sad and unsettling days, on top of two years of sad and unsettling days, on top of four previous sad and unsettling years. I can’t fix any of that. 

The best I can do is feel grateful for small connections and treats, look for signs of hope, and hold fast to it all. Here's hoping you can, too.