The voice of Kamala, our beacon of hope.
It’s taken me several weeks to process all the emotions and feelings that came along with the election results. I was overcome with such joy when I heard that Kamala Harris would be our Vice President. She is our first Black, Indian woman Vice President of the United States. On the sunday after the elections, I almost felt my body and mind could not process all that landed on that momentous moment. It was if my body was reacting to the ancestral wounds of being a woman. I thought about every girl, daughter and mother watching their phones or tvs with their own eyes as Kamala Harris arrived on the stage. For so many, it was the moment to see someone like them. It was a moment of authenticity for women. It was the moment that speaking at the table mattered. It was a moment where progress was being made. She arrived in a moment in history filled with trying times. The exposure to inequities, social injustice, a divided nation, a spiraling virus, crippling businesses, job loss, climate issues and unemployment rates soaring. The list goes on. 2020 has shown us that we have to look at our whole selves. There is light and there is shadow. We are being asked and called to show up and figure this out. There is not a formula and this time has given me the opportunity to dig into the life I would like to live. In thinking about my own journey, I’m part of a two income family, two small kids, and I still want to craft that simpler life. Even after nine months of surviving and thriving at times through COVID, it still makes sense to me that we keep our families close, we find roles/positions in society that fit into our family life and we also make time for “play.” The life we were all “on” prior to covid was filled with “busy” ness and packed with expectations of how we need to live, work, and roam the planet. By slowing down, we now can reflect on what needs to stay and what needs to go. We are being asked to think about our roles in life, our jobs, our relationships, and how we move about the world. I keep thinking about my two girls, Emma and Zoe. I think about what they may be feeling during this time. I think about what they may be experiencing. We may be deep into a covid mess, but children can take in life in more simple terms. They feel freely and take in the good things in their surroundings. A few things I hope they take away from these months and the years ahead are;
We were present
We went to playgrounds
We did crafts together
We ate dinners and meals together
We laughed, we cried, we smiled
We did simple things
We went on hikes
We danced
We exercised
We learned about each other
We learned about rest
We learned about togetherness
We learned about being apart
We took care of our neighbors
We took care of our health and our bodies
We loved each other
We practiced gratefulness
We sat with difficult emotions
We held each other more
We sang
We made the most of it
It's been 7 months since I’ve been furloughed from my position and I feel I’ve grown in so many ways. That growth did not come without effort, but I truly put value into this time every single day. I met the moment with love. Taking care of yourself and being a young parent takes nurturing and learning each day. You have to find daily and weekly rhythms and be ok with getting off track and then getting back on again. Bit by bit I’ve found moments of self care, creativity, spending time with my family, my spouse, clearing space in my home, and created projects to organize ourselves. Each piece of these moments means something to me. It means that I’ve felt fulfilled by all these parts. Some of these parts didn’t get the attention they needed in our pre-covid lives. Life was too busy and too chaotic. There wasn’t breathing room to do these things. I’ve found that having some mental space in our lives and time together has made for more appreciation of the whole self. I’ve spent almost every week with my dad doing projects in my home, something I will cherish forever. We weren’t making anything monumental, just small projects here and there. It’s helped his mental health. We’ve built many things together. We’ve felt accomplishment. I would have never had this time if I were working full time. I’m grateful for the time together. So as we move into the season of winter, we go step by step. I strive to carry gratefulness with me. I strive to continue to find the light. I strive to see life as my children’s eyes see it. I strive to be a good neighbor. I strive to meet my fellow humans where they are at this time. I truly believe what we are being asked to drop the armour, drop your politics, your backgrounds, and your beliefs. We are being asked to unite and come together for our children and our planet. We’re being asked to simplify. Let’s unite our hearts and be in this moment.
