Emily gets a handle
September 3, 2024
HELLO
Hey, welcome, it’s nice to be here with you.
So much change! I just moved into a new room which we painted head to toe. I feel like I’m in a hotel. New roomies, new month, new room. Phew!
Anyhoo, here are some reflections on presence and power.
In July and August I spent three weeks vacationing with various family members. I was really clear on my purpose during these trips - be present and have meaningful moments with these people. That is enough! Okayy! And it felt like enough! Okayy!
During my week with my grandma, aged 92, this was our schedule for a Tuesday. -
Wake up and do our own thing
Eat swedish pancakes, lingonberry jam and tea
Check her car oil (I am strong enough to open the car hood and also want to learn how to check car oil)
I interview her on the Travel section of our “Grandparent’s Book: Answers to a Grandchild’s Questions” by Milton Kamen
Eat leftover salmon and potatoes
Nap time!
Go out for afternoon tea and pastries followed by a trip to a cute used bookstore
Make and eat spring rolls
After dinner and clean up we are both like. Ok! Time for the movie. Grandma goes upstairs and I think she is going to come downstairs to watch the movie. She thinks I am going to go upstairs to watch. We are both sitting on different couches for 10 minutes thinking, where’s grandma? where’s emily?! Finally, I go upstairs and we watch “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” by Marielle Heller - a movie about Mr. Rogers. This movie has us both in our feels about what it means to be human, to see each other, to really listen, that we hold hands during the climax and look deeply into each other’s eyes when the movie ends. I am surprised by how dark her irises are.
Bedtime!
And that is a beautiful day. It is enough!
**
Now for a lil bit o’ thinkin on power. We are in election season baby! Primaries are today. I mailed my ballot a few weeks ago so I’m chillin. Anyhoo, grandma and I were talking about the power we have as individuals or groups to enact change on our political systems. She wants a ceasefire in Palestine and feels that calling representatives, writing letters, and protesting don’t do anything to enact change. She votes in every election. That made me feel sad. And I relate. It is hard for me to understand the trajectory of mass movements and change and how the daily actions shift systems over time. What is power and how does it work? Help me!
I asked her: do you think democracy is possible? She said no. I said how about in a group of 30 people, say an organization. She said no. I said how about a group of 5 people. She said no. I said how about a group of 2 people. She said no. I was like grandma what!!! 2 people?? And then she said, well I guess it depends on the personalities of the people.
I watched What Is Democracy? by Astra Taylor when it showed at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge sometime in the 2017ish range. A question the film explores is: What is the number of people that can sustain a democracy together? What are the boundaries? And I think about adrienne maree brown saying, who practices democracy in the home? In a room with a bunch of political activists fighting for democracy and like so few people put their hands up (how to citizen episode).
xoxo
p.s. if you are watching love island us season 6 and want to talk hmu….
THE LUNCH LINE
Ding Dong! Call my lunch line and I will serenade you with a 20 second description of the lunch that I ate on Thursday, August 22nd. It doesn’t even ring folks, it just goes straight to voicemail.
✨ ☏ ✨ ☏ (508) 250-0281 ✨ ☏ ✨ ☏
BYE
Thanks for reading!