š¼ Lil Treasures Thread #40: Sackcloth and Panda Bears
Iām starting to think the ancients were on to something with the sackcloth and ashes bit.
The need I feel to make my grief physical these days is palpable. I feel it all sitting on my chest and I want to pull out all my black clothes. I want to participate in some kind of communal death wail. I want to sit shiva. Someone perform a requiem mass, because so much has been lost this year, thereās so much to mourn.
I know the reason we do treasures (and turds) here is to push back against the turds, but this week, I find myself in a turd pile of epic proportions, and honestly, not in the mood to find a silver lining. I also know we canāt just throw up our hands and not do the work to look for treasures, so Iāll do it. I will uncover joy in places where Iād just rather not. Iāll read your treasures and Iāll be so grateful for where you are, knowing that the world spins on for you and sometimes thatās enough for me. I think that may be all I can muster this week. Iād be sorry for that, but thatās not how we work here. So if youāre new, know I usually tend to skew a little lighter. But this week felt heavy and Iām going to sit in it. Weāll be back to light-hearted next week, pending any major catastrophes.
But of course, we still have treasures.
On a completely unrelated note, a couple of you have asked about my COVID traveling experience, and I have to say: it was pretty okay! I even got tested once I got home to make sure I hadnāt picked it up along the way, and all was clear. Getting to see my family was absolutely wonderful, and I really had such a lovely time celebrating one of my oldest and dearest friends as she married her sweetheart. Donāt think Iāll make a habit of it, but it sure was a nice break from the not going anywhere at all. So that was definitely a treasure. Plus, I have to tell you that Ricky Schroeder was one of the groomsmen at this wedding (if you know me, you know my love for Lonesome Dove, so I was very much NOT OKAY), and while I didnāt get a pic with him because I was trying to be cool, I did manage to snag this great image of him chatting with a wedding guest. Iām a gifted photographer, what can I say?
š” Also, you all were so kind about the inaugural episode of Faith Adjacent, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you didnāt get to listen, you can still do that here. If you shared, if you told a friend about it, if you liked it, if you downloaded it, if you offered an encouraging word: it genuinely means so so much to me. Thank you.
š Sarah from Pantsuit Politics DMed me this week to inform me about @savedbythebellhooks, an excellent mashup of two things I love very much: intersectional feminism quotes from bell hooks, and Saved by the Bell. Itās absurd and delightful, and very much up my alley. Hereās my current favorite post:
š Yāall are following @hicaitlinreilly, yes? This video killed me.
š š» I got Olive & Juneās fall color collection this week and just absolutely loving it. I think Iāve mentioned that painting my nails has become a nice reset for me here in COVIDtide, and Olive & June simply does not miss. I am really into JJ right now and their tools are so helpful. Iām like, pretty good at my nails now, which is new.
ā¤ļø Absolutely loved this hope-filled opinion piece from Kaitlyn Scheiss, which I quoted extensively in our upcoming Favored or Forsaken episode on Jerry Falwell, Jr.
Some good tweets, not all light-hearted, but still good:
Tyler Huckabee has a permanent spot in the Twitter Hall of Fame, I donāt make the rules:
If youāre in the emotional tall grass this week, Iām excited to tell you that this video gave me a respite, and perhaps it will do the same for you:
Hereās to better days ahead, friends. Canāt wait to hear about your week.
My mom, who was critically ill last time I posted, passed away. I was at her side, holding her hand, seeing it, feeling it, experiencing it first hand and it still seems unbelievable. My father-in-law died two days before that, alone in a nursing facility. Today and tomorrow are their funerals, back to back, three hours away from my home in opposite directions. On top of the surprising physical effects of deep grief, I fell yesterday and dislocated my knee. I screamed like I was on fire. It is a painful experience but clearly I was working out some demons.
Maybe itās not so bad to live in actual mourning for a bit right now. I will carry some of your grievances this weekend friends, and will bury them and cover them with flowers and tears and prayers that something amazing will grown from these literal ashes.
Oh Erin, in solidarity with wearing sackcloth and ashes. TMI but had an extremely early miscarriage so my hormones were out of this world, bat crap crazy. I acted like the Liz Lemon in the episode where she dresses up like an old woman for people to stay away from her š¬.
BUT, in one of my uncontrollable hormonal meltdowns, I listened to The Popcastās July AUA and you mad me laugh/snort/cry/pee my pants trying to pronounce my ridiculousness of a name š¤£š¤£ THANK YOU, to you, Knox, and Jamie, for being my comic relief. Also, itās pronounced āKay-lee Kaw-checkā but Siri says ācock-sackā so choose whichever one makes you feel better!! Haha
Iāll be catching up on Faith Adjacent today ā¤ļø
We appreciate you, Erin!!