The time is always right...

Paving a way for Lucia

Before the news of Harvey Weinstein broke, a skeleton dog showed up in the lobby of our building. It stood waiting by the door to scare those who entered and those who left. It looked like it was mid-attack with a mean snarl across its face. My daughter Lucia, now 3 and a half immediately noticed this dog as it stood eye to eye with her as we came home one night. It was accompanied by a fake severed hand and ghouls dancing from the ceiling in preparation for Halloween. The wonderful super of our building puts a lot of time and attention into making the building festive. This was the first year this dog showed up.

From the archives: I am a Women's-Studies-major-having woman from Wellesley College. And I have forgotten about gender.

I just came across this piece from my journal and thought that it would be good to dust off in light of the Women's March this Saturday. It's sort of amazing to feel the energy and activism that seems to be rising up from all corners lately.

Seeing the beginnings...

 

Baby's library, of course!

For the last eight months, I've been planning. Getting the nest ready. Reading up (as I do). Largely excited with a tiny bit of natural anxiety mixed in. Friends and colleagues (and of course the daily strangers) have remarked about how well I am doing. How happy I seem. I am. 

No pain no gain?

I wonder what the cultural relevance of this statement is in 2014. 

I can recall seeing it on many a soaked-through tee shirt at the gym. It's a mantra. "No pain no gain" is a philosophy to be proud of when physically pushing yourself. If you're not sweating and sore and in pain, then you're not really doin' it.

Multiracial families: Counted but still misunderstood

In the past couple of years, I have noticed a certain complacency that I never noticed before, in my eleven years of leading Swirl. The same passion and the same excitement around building multiracial communities had faded a bit. In the one year leading up to the Presidential election, we launched five new chapters (the norm had been a chapter every year or every other year). People were excited by the energy created by Obama's campaign, and they were motivated and eager to be a part of creating supportive and inclusive multiracial communities.

A new year...for community

How often do we truly feel seen by others? A part of a community that will hold us in the good times and the bad? I have been reflecting on how rare that feeling has been for me - of true love and acceptance from a community.

We need new vocabulary

Tonight's conversation at the Brooklyn Historical Museum (BHS) was thought-provoking and energizing.

No more tug of war

One thing that I'm finally learning is to walk away from the tug of war.

You want someone to do something and so you pull with all of your might.
The person looks you deep in the eyes from across the pit of mud, holding onto the other end of the rope.

Concrete Steps

I wrote this poem during the One City One Prompt event coordinated with Swirl and the Creative Righting Center on September 18, 2011.

Concrete Steps

The streets of New York City
become more smoothly choreographed.
We don't bump or push or
get into quarrels because of such small infractions worsened by ego.
We glide past one another,
light breezes, punctuated by easy smiles.

Practice makes progress

In my years of diversity work, I am pretty sure about one thing. The people who are "good" at talking about race issues are those who have practiced.

As a participant in discussions about race, I have heard certain white individuals (not all) lament, "I just don't know how to talk about this stuff." And then I have heard some people of color (not all) in turn, say, "I am tired of talking about this stuff every day."