2020 Project 365 – Week Forty-five

Remember how last week I said that I could quit stress eating? It turns out that I have now moved into celebratory eating. I’m sensing a theme here – one that will end up with an extra 20 pounds on my hips. Anyway, what a week! I feel relieved and yet still anxious because we have another two months of potential crazy.

Sunday, November 1^st                                                                 

My lunch – egg salad & bbq potato chip sandwich. It was GOOD. 

Monday, November 2^nd                              

Finished this scarf. The yarn is sparkly, but still soft. I was trying to create something that could actually be worn in NC, unlike most of my scarves which I can maybe tolerate for a handful of days during the year. People obviously needed a non-election distraction because this post got more than usual likes on both Instagram and Facebook.

Tuesday, November 3^rd                                                               

Happy Election Day! Daylilies, roses, azaleas, blanket flowers, and a lone phlox bloom. 

Wednesday, November 4^th                                                           Happy Election Day Part II! I had a terrible night because the early returns looked very red. So this is how I felt on Wednesday morning. 

Something in this skein of yarn seems to not belong…

 

Thursday, November 5^th          

Happy Election Day Part III! No picture – we were just hunkered down biting our nails.

 

Friday, November 6^th                                                                    Happy Election Day Part IV! I used this photo (of a painting that my friend Becci painted) to go along with some election thoughts from Jeff Chu. You can read what he wrote here, but here is a snippet:

However this election is resolved, it’s just the beginning, not an end. If the current administration is sent home, and it’s no mystery that this is my hope, some of us will breathe a sigh of momentary relief. Then the hard work will begin. So much hurt has been inflicted over the past four years, especially on some of the most vulnerable among us. As a Chinese American and as a gay man, I have felt that personally in some ways. But others have been harmed far more than I have—and one of the challenges is to broaden my perception beyond myself. When we say “we the people,” who else has been excluded? Who has gone unrecognized? Who has carried the greatest burden of racism and white supremacy, homophobia and transphobia, the ableism and the xenophobia, the discrimination and the bigotry that continue to plague this society? Who has been denied the possibility of being among “us,” instead branded as “them”?  If I believe in a broader, more expansive, more inclusive “we” and “us,” I also have to reckon with the reality that nearly 70 million Americans voted the other way. For one reason or a dozen others, they felt that a continuation of this regime would be right and good, or at least more right and more good than the alternative. Even as I believe love compels me to prioritize listening to those to whom this administration has not listened, it also urges me to empathize with those who felt stronger and more secure under its rule. And though it has so frequently deployed shame and dehumanization, I have to resist the temptation to do the same. 

Saturday, November 7^th                   

Happy Election Day Part V! I always put too many ingredients in my omelets. This one was bigger than my head! I ate half of it.

I was getting ready to go to the grocery store, but I was worried that the folks there might think my red eyes were because I was upset about the election results. On the contrary, I spent much of the day in a state of happy tears. 

As I said above, I’m relieved and anxious. There’s so much work ahead. And so much potential for chaos. How are you feeling right now?