May tomorrow be better, whenever that tomorrow may be.
Post election blues and a personal update.
I’ve started and stopped so many drafts in the past two weeks. I’ve missed you.
There have been a lot of words spilled over the election, and how the results didn’t go in the direction of progress. I don’t have many new ones to add, only that I am with you in this collective grief. I am unsure of how to move forward, but I’m committed to coming up with a plan. I am having a hard time doing anything other than the work I have on my plate at the moment, seeing friends, and going on walks. I’m sharing this because life has spun on after the election results were tallied, and it will continue to spin forward regardless of who is in office whether we like it or not. Though the stakes are higher, we will no doubt be figuring out how to balance living our lives, and advocating for a better future, just as we always have.
The Wednesday after the election, my husband and I did our best to keep moving. We went to our friend's coffee shop and cried together at a table with a rotating cast of good pals. We also laughed, and made jokes at our own expense. We held each other, and we tried to find hope anywhere. We found some in the ways that built community can hold space for and take care of each other. We talked about what we can do now, and how we can tangibly take care of each other in the future. It was hard but necessary conversation. I cried for the friends of mine who no longer feel safe or comfortable having children, for friends who are scared they might be deported, for friends who may lose access to their HRT.
I have found myself returning, of course, to the words of Octavia Butler, and when looking for what she might have said about all this (of which, she has predicted eerily) I found an article in a publication called Black Perspectives. The whole article by Lavelle Porter is worth a read, and of course urges you to read Parable of the Sower (which you should do now if you haven’t). It ends with this.
“The radical hope that Octavia Butler offers is not based on inevitable, linear progress, but in the belief in our own agency in the matter—that through our present actions, with planning and persistence, we can lay the foundations for a better tomorrow.”
Though the progress may not be linear, may we always believe in our own agency.
May tomorrow be better, whenever that tomorrow may be.
A personal update.
I’ve recently joined forces with some musicians in the position of Creative Director, and it’s been a real joy. I’ve been busy in a good way, and excited about the work I’ve been doing. In addition to the creative director work, I’ve been shooting photos for some exciting projects.
Right now I’m in Austin. On Saturday I photographed a party for Vital Farms in celebration of the lovely Justine Doiron’s new cookbook, Justine Cooks. I’m also here to shoot some portraits and an elopement. This will be my third wedding in just over a month, and I’m over the moon about it. I love love, and I’m excited to put my Polaroid rig (it’s so many pieces, it’s dumb) into action.
I’ve made far fewer plans on this trip than I normally do. After the whirlwind of the last two weeks it’s been a good change of pace. On Saturday after the cookbook launch party, which was held at beloved Austin mainstay Paperboy, I walked across the road to their new concept Loudmouth and ate the best Italian sub I’ve had all year. Last night I went to dinner with some friends, and on my request we went back to Loudmouth. It was so good the second time that I bought a crewneck.
Next week I leave for tour, which will find me in Virginia and the Northeast. I’ll be sure to write.
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