Here here, everything is fine

The headlines are apocalyptic: the subways flooding, the wind on fire, the heat, the drought. And also: this week I got a pedicure, kissed my son’s cheeks which he tolerates, sat by the pool with my mother and sister ate so much ice cream. I walked IN the river and got up the nerve to touch a frog, which is not my business, and there was teeny tiny feather I put into an altoids container and took home. How to hold these realities? There were crayfish and tomorrow I will sit at my uncle’s elbow, as I’ve been doing for decades, and he will break open crabs and hand me good bits of flesh to dip in melted yellow butter. We will laugh. I will be daughter and mother. Everything is wonderful. Everything is awful. Both. Is this what it means to be human? In case you weren’t with us, here are the prompts from today:

Freewrite for 8 minutes: “What does it mean to be human?”

Read this amazing poem, “King” by Layli Long Soldier.

Consider this quote: “Every living organism straddles stability and change.”—Esther Perel

Begin, “I am…”

Write for 12 minutes.