The Work You’re Doing
Meditation.
It's been a rough few days—a few months.
Wanting to be with someone specific vs. just wanting someone to pour into them.
Debris cleaning and house assessment after Hurricane Francine.
The air in the room bursts, and Miles laughs. Then, the sound detonates with a throaty, unrelenting, snaggle-toothed shriek of joy. I rest a book on my chest, close my eyes, and try to place myself in a time before my name softened into a title—when a cookie could be eaten by one person. Once upon a time, a room could be tranquil, and no Batman Legos were waiting to impale my foot. I take a deep bre— "Argh, What's up, Daddy!?!?" yells Miles as he jumps, knees first, into my lap. "I snuck up on you. I'm a NINJA!!!" "Good job, Bud." I wince, curving my mouth into something resembling a smile. I hug and kiss him twice on the forehead.
Two days after the storm, a man rides a bicycle past the house, blasting jazz from a speaker in his backpack. This is New Orleans
Early flight.
Just beat Hurricane Helene after a two-hour layover in Atlanta.
Thoughts on love as a tapestry: sew a little here and there, and then appreciate the art/your art forever.
Wisconsin, first home to the Dakota Oyate, Ho-Chunk, Ojibwe, Illinois, Fauk, Sauk, Mahican, and the Menominee (namesake of the city I'm teaching in for this Campus Summit), is beautiful.
Toya's text: "We love you, and we're proud of the work you're doing." Being supported is a blessing, but being seen by the people you love means the world.
Tonight's Author Talk for the University of Wisconsin-Stout culminated five days of writing workshops and conversations that I will remember with remarkable tenderness for the rest of my life—tears of joy and gratitude. Sometimes, this writer/speaker/life thing is so generous that you meet beautiful people and discover a ready space in your heart you didn't know you had.
Everyone is problematic to a cause.
Everyone is a hero to a cause.
Orange juice & Cheezits.
With all my heart…Té
