Happy weekend, everyone! It was a hard week for me for obvious reasons, and I’m glad to have it behind me. Thank you, again, for all your kind words and expressions of sympathy. I barely stopped crying for three days straight, but on Thursday afternoon I made a turn in the grieving, and I’m moving on from replaying those sad final hours over and over and over to remembering happier times and feeling so lucky I have such a well of great memories (19 years worth!) to comfort me. (The rest of the family, including Miles, is doing ok. I’ve collected lots of photos and am going to make a little album for the kids, and we’ve been sharing memories and talking about the invisible string we have from our hearts to Simone’s and to all the loved ones we’ve lost. This seems to especially comfort Jackson who remembers the invisible string from his grandpa’s death three years ago when we had to figure out how to talk to kids about death).
Anyway, we had plans to take the kids to an urban pumpkin patch today, but it’ll be raining hard all day, so I think it’ll be a combo of play dates and movies and reading and games and baking instead. I’m not complaining. If tomorrow is dry, we may do the pumpkin patch then. I can’t believe Halloween is only a few days away! Are you dressing up? Last year Jackson decided to be Santa and thought Joanie could be an elf (this was when she was only two and still too little to have much opinion on these matters—boy, have things changed in a year). Drew and I dressed up like reindeer at the last minute and we had a pretty good family theme going. This year Jackson has been into watching vintage Looney Tunes cartoons and decided to dress up like Bugs Bunny for Halloween. Kid-sized Bugs Bunny costumes are hard to find!! We ended up creating a costume piecemeal – a vintage mask off eBay, a shark union suit from Target that we’ll cut the hood off of, a foam carrot, white gloves, cartoon feet that we’ll spray paint white, a bunny tail. Joanie’s costume was much easier. She wants to be Marshall from her favorite show, Paw Patrol — a costume I found on Amazon for $20 in about 60 seconds (granted, I had to exchange it for a smaller size but still: pretty easy). Jackson still wants a family theme and thinks Drew and I should also dress up as our favorite cartoon characters. Joanie is more direct: “You be Peppa Pig, Mama!” Hmmm…
Hey, by the way: Midterms are just over one week away and it’s not too late to help turn out the vote. Check SwingLeft for ideas on what you can do where you live to help get people to the polls and save our democracy. The only way to get a check on Trump and his evil administration is to get reluctant voters to make their voices heard.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
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JD October 27, 2018, 9:08 am
Hope you share a pic of the cute costumes Wendy. Halloween is my favorite holiday. Love seeing the kids all dressed up.
Kate October 28, 2018, 10:09 am
I can’t effing wait to vote. I’d vote early, but it’s easier to vote at my polling place around the corner (next to Elizabeth Warren’s house!). Someone called me on the phone the other night when I was on the bus to take a poll and I was so fired up! I like Elizabeth Warren and of course will vote for her for senate, but I don’t think she should run for President 🙁
We saw Hamilton in Boston last night. My husband had gotten an unexpected refund check and that’s what he wanted to spend it on. It was awesome and some of the cast were really standout, but I still think better to see it for the first time in NYC because the theater is so small and you hear every word and see everything. The sound quality is amazing. Boston Opera House is HUGE in comparison.
When George Washington sings about sitting under your own vine and fig tree, I looked up the context, and it’s heartbreakingly timely:
“The phrase is also notably found in a well-known letter that Washington wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. In the letter, Washington proclaimed, “May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants – while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”9 The usage enforces the notion that it was Micah 4:4 that Washington referenced, as he added “none to make him afraid” at the end of the sentence.10 This particular usage of “vine and fig tree” was important due to the fact that Washington was quoting the Hebrew Scriptures to a Hebrew congregation, re-enforcing his ecumenical leanings.”
Kate October 28, 2018, 1:37 pm
Also, visiting my aunt today in the facility she’s in since last week. They got her an absentee ballot from NH and my brother or someone will drive it up there to make sure it gets in by the 6th.
They also let her watch the Red Sox World Series game on TV last night in bed, the 6th-9th innings. Not usually allowed but they made an exception.
keyblade October 28, 2018, 1:48 pm
I voted early and it was depressing. I’m finishing up a costume for one of my kids. I hope to get out for a nice walk. I love the leaves right now. Husband is trying to watch football, so I may take the kids with me.
Sara October 28, 2018, 9:24 pm
Wendy sorry for your rough week :(. I hope things are getting better day by day and that she’s looking down at you over the rainbow bridge.
I have been channeling all my frustrations into writing postcards for PostcardsForVoters and also writing letters for Vote Foreward. If anyone feels anger or sadness or just wants to make a change, I encourage you to look into these organizations. Their efforts for midterms end on Oct 30th and can be done easily from home.