Friday Dispatch: Midsummer Updates
A little of everything
Garden magic at my sister's and brother-in-law’s house
Friday greetings,
First things first: Mama Bird and the four eggs seem to be doing well. We are trying to use the back door more to limit disturbing her. For the record, I consider this a healthy obsession!
Action is always a good antidote to despair. In that spirit, next Thursday, July 17, is “Good Trouble Lives On” day. Inspired by the inimitable legacy of Congressman John Lewis, there will be protests and actions all over the country.
Click here for the map where you can search by zip code for an event near you.
While remembering the big picture is so important, writing practice also helps me ground myself in what’s good, like on Wednesday when I wrote 11 things at the end of a sweet day. (You can read that list here.)
Speaking of writing practice, the midsummer session of The Sound of Real Life Happening opens today. In this group, we practice writing 11 things each day for 11 days. There are no further instructions, and how we relate can become a teaching unto itself.
As both facilitator and practitioner during these sessions, I create a container that feels (hopefully!) both secure and capacious. Here’s a slightly edited version of what I posted in the group this morning:
Holy hot flash, Batman.
Ben, our handyman, is cleaning the gutters.
Chalupa is barking her head off. Warning, warning! There is a man on a ladder! Loud noises! Shadowy figures!
I slept in til after 9:00am and am a bit discombobulated this morning as a result. I must have really needed it, as we went to bed early.
I accompanied my dad yesterday to a doctor’s appointment.
After, we ate sandwiches at an outside table at Familiars in Northampton. He gave me a lecture about falling Empires, starting in Shakespeare's time. This is one of my dad's love languages.
I was aware of the FREE GAZA graffiti on the brick wall opposite our table.
The For Heaven's Sake podcast from the Shalom Hartman Institute is an anchor for me, and a source of trying to continue sifting through the emotional, spiritual, psychic, and physical devastation of the Israel-Hamas war.
Dead leaves and other debris flutter down and cover the deck floor. We still don't have deck furniture. Mind you, it is a very small deck.
On the sunporch, a folding table and four folding chairs. A tablecloth from my parents' old house that had belonged to my grandmother.
The colorful teapot that the same grandmother brought back from a trip in the 1960s to Russia, one of many trips she took with her best friend Gus. The two of them were intrepid travelers. And, perhaps, more than friends. I will never know for sure. But writing now, it occurs to me that I could ask her from this side of the veil...
If writing “11s” intrigues you, there is room for ONE more person, and it’s not too late to join us! Here’s the link to register.
Lastly for now, I want to invite you to join me and Isabella Dellolio, a wonderful portrait photographer, for a delicious summer retreat on Thursday, August 21!
Through writing and photography, Isabella and I have each found a way to build a life around our respective passions. What we share is a love of storytelling, connection, fun, and authenticity. We're both in our 50s now (though neither of us is quite sure how that happened so quickly). One thing we've found is that the freer we get with our own quirkiness, the more we open ourselves to joy. At a time when the world is full of heartache, we believe that it is a powerful thing to make space for self-expression, creativity, and community.
All of this led us to create ONE YOU: THREE PORTRAITS.
We found a beautiful, peaceful spot – Woolman Hill, a Quaker retreat center in Deerfield, Massachusetts – where we will get to pause, seeing ourselves in the kind and generous summer light.
We’re talking…
* time to sit alone and write and time to circle up to share and listen, nod in recognition, and feel witnessed and supported.
* sharing a delicious meal and laughing together and playing with art materials the way you did when you were a kid, before anyone told you you were doing it wrong.
* getting a professional portrait that will actually feel like YOU.
If slowing down for a day sounds as sumptuous to you as it does to us, say yes and sign up! Come alone or with a friend! Come for the day, or build it into a little getaway and spend a night or two at the retreat center or elsewhere in the Pioneer Valley. What a gift, to get to share in the abundance of summer!
The registration deadline is July 28. Read more about it and secure your spot: www.isabelladellolio.com/one-you-three-portraits
OK, dear readers. That’s all the news that’s fit to print today. Oh, and these roses…
Shabbat Shalom and love,
Jena