27 June 2017

in between


a few things happened since I last wrote in december.

ava dyed her hair bright pink. ezra grew a hundred inches and then, turned thirteen. 

I read seventeen books. sampled eggplant ice cream, took my first large format photograph, bumped into my modern dance hero on the new york subway and broke the hammock in the backyard, though not all necessarily in that order.

new people moved into the houses next door and across the street, a real coffee shop opened up in our neighborhood and the cherry red cardinal who regularly flits around the backyard was given a name. larry. his name is larry. 

I taught ezra how to determine perfect avocado ripeness, introduced ava to the goldfinch and made ward teach me how to make a good cup of coffee. I drink coffee now. one morning I just woke up and said, this is madness! give me coffee! true story.

I broke down and finally bought myself a proper bra. rearranged the bedroom furniture in a blind fury, road tripped to nashville for junk and funnel cakes, shot my first record album cover, participated in my fifteenth polaroid week, contemplated a job (once again) waitressing at waffle house and realized rage vacuuming is probably the only workout I'll ever really need.

ezra learned to hold his own in the basketball games that take place on the courts up at the park. ava went to her first prom, had a horrible time and my heart seized up and broke the way it always does when my kids hurt. I stood beneath a few trees-- the old angel oak in john's island, south carolina and a cherry blossom tree in brooklyn. both times, my knees went wobbly and I felt glad to be alive. 

I started to write here at least a dozen times, probably more, but the words turned soft, dissolved into nothing, always. this country unraveled in ways I (naively) thought not possible, and america repeatedly confirmed in horrific, heartbreaking new ways what I already knew to be true: it does not value the lives of black and brown people. I questioned the church. not my faith, not God, but the church. in the months that fell between december and june, I grappled, stumbled, felt hopeless.

to be clear, I continue to grapple, stumble, feel hopeless. but in between, God. avocados to check for ripeness. pink hair, subway magic, childhood milestones. red cardinals named larry, new neighbors who grow sunflowers and sit on front porches while children jump through sprinklers, new neighbors whose parents are from different countries. good trees to stand under, meaty books to read and, thank the good Lord, hot coffee in the morning. 

in between, privilege to check, again and again. conversations to have, hard conversations. learning to do, learning, learning, learning, always, reading, acknowledging, learning. in between, ways to give, work to do, a chorus to join, the great, unending push forward. 

in between, we have voices, we have hands, we can work. 

in between is when everything happens.

17 comments:

  1. Teary eyed and so grateful for this ❤️

    ReplyDelete
  2. Always loving your truth and words
    Xo

    ReplyDelete
  3. As always powerful & meaningful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Poetry in your word. As a wife and mother to brown children. You would be correct. My heart breaks for them. But this momma is a fighter and I fight for them everyday.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I can always count on you to sift through the universe to find the magical bits, as hard is sometimes can be...

    ReplyDelete
  6. Simply Beautiful Namaste

    ReplyDelete
  7. i check back each week to see if you are writing again, missed your lovely words...and photos

    ReplyDelete
  8. 💛💛💛

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've lived for this. For someone to just write it all down like that. Shoulda known it would be you...
    And then, that photo. Yes.

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is SO beautifully written. I do hope you're back! Please be back.

    ReplyDelete
  11. wow, thank you. your words have ripple effect on my day.

    ReplyDelete