weeknote 4 (snow day)
A short weeknote, as snow and solitude were the big themes of the week and I hashed out some thoughts here. The big update on the snow is that is did come. It was 8-10 inches of mostly snow with a hard shell of freezing rain.
I had to search what the differences between sleet, snow, and freezing rain are, and it was cool seeing it in person. And the physics of how the different precipitation fell, was affected by wind and structures, and crystalized on a surface has blown my mind. Water does a lot! My car got some puffy snow on it, a friend's was covered in a layer of ice and freezing rain a block away.
The dogs are having a time of it. Here's a very large upset dog who fell into the snow after the icy sleet layer broke through. Our snow is very crusty.
After shoveling for hours throughout the weather (ten hours of snow, two of sleet, then nine of freezing rain) yesterday, I went to a friend's artist compound (I don't know how else to describe it - multiple houses with a lot of people happily, healthily co-habitating) to watch an episode of Very Important People (bizarre!) and hit the hot tub. It saved my back to allow for more shoveling today. I walked home near midnight and the city was beautiful and empty.
School is out today, and likely tomorrow, but teaching is going well. I have a new crop of 8th graders, and one told her grandma that I am "really nice but don't play." I am elated - that's the reputation you want as a middle school teacher. I like this group and they seem to like making art, for the most part. I wonder when we'll go back - this is the biggest storm Baltimore has seen in ten years, and the city is going to take time to recover.
I've been completely disregulated since the latest ICE murder, like a lot of you. I was dooming pretty intensely, refreshing both the news and the weather updates as the storm rolled in. Someone on Mastodon shared this song that was helping her as she was falling apart, and I listened to it and drew a bath (too hot again, but I cooled it down so I could stay in for an hour).
Hearing group singing helps my nervous system stop wigging out. Singing in a group is even better - even singing happy birthday is regulating for me. And I'm no good for anyone if I'm wigged out, and with Nick Shirley and his friends afoot in Baltimore this past weekend I know I need to get myself ready for the manufactured crisis to be brought here.
remember, we are going to win
I try not to be on the part of the internet with "takes" except for the takes of Georgetown philosophy professor/author Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò, who rarely misses. He's been beating the drum of we will win pretty hard, and on hard days I appreciate how he's been making people see it. It beats the Reddit "oh that's cute, you think we're going to have elections" cynicism that leads people away from action (and is probably just half bots at this point anyways).
Here's a repost that took me out:
It's little, but the tide is shifting. Too slowly, but it is shifting. More hurt is to come and we need to be prepared for it, but giving up isn't an option. Resting is a necessity.