Two Yellow-rumped warblers fly upwards from the sidewalk in a near spiral, sparring over a seed or courting, I can't tell. It's a brief moment, but stunning in its beauty: a light flutter, a flash of white, like looking at a cross-section of a kaleidoscope, their wings and tails and feet and bills synchronized for a moment until they break away from one another.
I'd looked up from weeding our patch of yard which I've mainly ignored, past bedecking it with holiday lights, for several months. There are soggy leaves and new green shoots of sprouting bird seed and weeds or both. It's not a great look and just the thing for my dispassionate mind. Two classes in a row do that. Plus another bout of rain is on its way and this is my window. of time to get things done
So I'm surprised, after a morning of happy texts and emails, by what afternoon brings:
"Are we having a coup ?" a friend messages me. My husband checks in as well, and I look at the news.
Convulsions. One headline describes it. I wince to read about the offices getting ransacked. But I don't have a TV and the full weight of what has happened in the Capitol don't sink in fully until evening.
Since then, I'm not sure what to do but scroll through the news and write my representatives, which feels like something. I'm sad and worried. It's hard to concentrate.
I'm still not sure what to do, but I do know staying grounded, connected to others, our shared humanity, is key. As is seeking out beauty and the good that is all around, anytime we want to slow down and pay attention, take a breath. Please take care and stay safe. 