Wednesday, January 06, 2021

It Is a New Year

A few days ago I sat beside our Christmas tree, inhaling the fragrance of pine, thinking about people I miss, activities I miss, and I teared up over things, so many things, like missing loved ones, and some of the better aspects of how life was before. I've been feeling sad and anxious, eager to hear good news, to be done with accident issues, to feel like maybe our democracy will not be burned to the ground. I guess it's no wonder I felt like I don't want Christmas to be over, because it's such a simple, and familiar state of mind, of spirit to live in, with music and lights, and the world trying extra much to share in surprises, kindness, comforting gestures and traditions. It's a safe space of amicable activities, sights and sounds, full of hope, and appreciable tasks. It hasn't even felt like a new year, anyway, so why step out of the old year, is what I was thinking.
Anyone that's been around Chickenblog long enough knows my arch nemesis is laundry... in part because laundry is my arch nemesis, and because humor and hyperbole help me cope with my general antipathy about housework. For the record, the very best thing to happen in 2021 is that I have tackled laundry. It's not gone 100%, but is it ever? But! Laundry is washed, dried, hung, folded, and put away, at about a 95% rate of completion. And, so much laundry has been vanquished, I have even moved on with mending! I don't know what happened, what changed, why I found the gumption, and resolve, and I do worry it won't stay... but right now, laundry is not a problem. Amen.
From the Heroes' Feast, another excellent recipe, prepared by Bambi, Elven Marruth. She made the vegan dough from scratch. Don't her little hand pies look darling? I was upstairs mending clothes, and after a while the oven issued forth the absolute best smell of baking dough, and onions, carrots, cabbage, potatoes. Maybe because I was sitting on the balcony, and getting cold, hadn't had breakfast, but Bambi's baking was filling the house with really enticing, irresistable aromas, and I couldn't wait to try some. I felt like a child, hoping to get a sample from the kitchen, without waiting to sit down to a meal. They tasted as good as I hoped, better. What a treat!
Since November, I have been counting days, not til Christmas, but to the run-off election for the Georgia senate seats. Geoff and I supported Stacey Abrams' gubernatorial run, in 2018, and we have supported everything she has set her sights on since. We believe in her, in her resolve and intelligence, in her effectiveness, and we believe in democracy, Black Lives mattering, and justice. She did the work, and pulled the people together to prove, in the presidential election, that Georgia is not a red state, but a state where voting has been suppressed, where BIPOC votes have been suppressed. And with democracy on the line, I have been waiting, holding my breath for January 5th, for the Reverend Raphael Warnock, and Jon Ossoff to be elected to the United States Senate.
Last night felt like a New Year's Eve, like we were closer to something good, something just. We broke bread, and shared our growing optimism. Today, in light of what has been accomplished in Georgia, we are closer to the kind of new year I can celebrate. And... with what racist, alt-right, conspiracists are doing in the Capitol, we may be further from having a democracy in which to enjoy this success.

1 comment:

Alicia said...

Happy New Year!! that vegan recipe looks great and the cats are lovely!