So long, February!
It’s crazy, isn’t it, how the last two months have felt like two years and yet, at least to me, February seemed to fly by…
Since the election, I’ve been sending smatterings of emails to various groups of friends and family, prequels to this inaugural post. You may have heard me say before that I firmly believe the solution to this cluster in which we find ourselves is to strengthen our personal connections with like-minded folks and try to “hold space” for the others. As many of you know (and are probably tired of hearing!), I have canceled my Washington Post subscription (last July!), access select articles in the New York Times free via the local library, and have entirely foregone all social media. I’ve since opted to connect directly with people in my circle, either in person or by text/email; I have some loved ones I can only reach with an old fashioned letter, for as long as the USPS remains intact. (I solemnly swear my mental health has improved dramatically with these changes alone.) This Substack-ish newsletter is a streamlined way of reaching out to my circle and to encourage you all to connect personally with your respective circles. It seems intuitive to me, by making this effort, we will find safety and comfort, and hopefully change, in numbers.
Not gonna lie (ngl, for the hipsters): A few months before the election, I was just emerging from a deep, three-year, post-divorce funk peppered with health issues (both mine and my furry children’s) which nearly tanked me. As my spirits began to lift (queue July 21st), I continued to follow through with a hope-filled plan to transform my political/non-profit-oriented consulting business into one focused on grant writing/non-profit support. I consulted mentors, took many classes, read all the books, developed a website, and was in the process of reaching out to my network when November 5th happened. (As I correctly predicted that night, grant writing, as we know it, has been dramatically imperiled, along with everything else right now.)
Since then, you too have likely had gut-wrenching 3 AM wake ups, if not outright insomnia. Along with envisioning the impending demise of democracy, I had been calculating daily the right day to say goodbye to my almost-19 y.o. cat girl Annie[1]; I learned shortly after Christmas that Maya, my 13 y.o. “pit llama” dog, has a mass in her liver[2]; and I was in chronic physical pain. These stressors and the seeming lack of viable future financial prospects led me down The Dark Path.
Don’t get me wrong: I have a true “dream team” of friends and family who would stand by in tough times but, at that point, nearly everyone I know was grappling with a terrifying future and I did not want to add to the disquiet with my inner terror(s).
In early January, with A LOT of time freed up from banishing social media, I read The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk. All I will say here is most everything that had been confusing about my life — including the political landscape — suddenly untangled. I’ll venture to add, in addition to just reading a good book, an effective anti-depressant can be reliable and resonant scientific information that fills in the gaps between what we feel and what we know.
On January 21st, a whimsical Substack post by writer Jen Louden landed in my inbox. It entertains the idea that “magic” might be a way through/out of our collective national nightmare. That led me to consider so many of the “magical” moments I’ve experienced over my lifetime; it was then I realized (again) life and this world are brimming with pockets of magic and small miracles… and so are we. I’m reminded, too, of what Bill Clinton said in his first inaugural address: “There is nothing wrong with America that can’t be cured by what is right with America.” Maybe we can’t “fix stupid” (or evil) but we can use our own individual magic for good. For me, that means writing — to you, to newspaper editors, for organizations doing good work, or for the sake of writing.
I hope you’ll continue to join me here for some collective pondering and whimsy in the weeks and months ahead. I want to know too how you’ve been dealing, what you‘ve been reading, watching, making, paying attention to. If you’d like, please share in the comments.
In the meantime, with love…
S.
2.28.25
What I’ve Been Reading
A Walk in the Park by Kevin Fedarko. If you haven’t read it, The Emerald Mile, also by Kevin, is the place to start; it’s arguably the best book I’ve ever read.
No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz.
If You Can’t Take the Heat: Tales of Food, Feminism, and Fury by Geraldine DeRuiter.
What I’ve Been Watching
The Wire (MAX) (I can’t believe, as a former Marylander, that it took me 20 years to watch this—incredible dialogue.)
Zero Day (Netflix)
Rustin (Netflix) Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama.
What I’ve Been Making/Baking
Baked Feta and Chickpeas (Love & Lemons, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake (NYTimes Gift Link) (Made this for friends & neighbors for Valentine’s Day - BIG hit!)
In the News
“Seal seeks sanctuary in New Haven streets” (Yale News)
“‘What fresh hell awaits me today?’ Federal workers share their stories”
(The Baltimore Banner)
“10 Things We Can All Do to Protect Democracy” by Marc Elias (Democracy Docket)
“The SAVE Act Is Voter Suppression Disguised as Election Integrity” (Ms. Magazine)
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[1] The girls (Lily and Maya), my dear friend Susan, and I said goodbye to Annie here at home on January 23rd, with assistance from the girls’ longtime vet.
[2]…which could be removed to the tune of $8k-$12k. I won’t make you queasy by telling you how much I’ve spent over the last two years at the vet. Elizabeth Warren is not wrong. It may or may not be cancer but is likely, at some point, to be fatal. I sure hope not. In the meantime, I’m making sure she is living her best life.
