This is just to say

I’m sorry I haven’t written.

My aunt died unexpectedly, and I haven’t yet found words that do her justice. How can I capture what she has given me, from her heart and in her home?

The shooting in Florida happened, and no words seem appropriate. How can I capture any measure of shame, sorrow, and anger that gives shape to how we have failed our young people?

In the midst of this: I don’t feel lighthearted. I don’t feel wise. I feel sad, and think I haven’t done enough: to tell my aunt what she meant to me, to protect children I don’t know.

And in the midst of this: I walk around town, and I watch sunsets, and I play with my dogs, and I talk with my love, and I make plans for travel, and I FaceTime with my favorite toddler, and I do the best that I can at work, and I make new recipes for dinner, and I go for a run each morning that my body allows, buoyed by the earlier dawns.

I am so grateful to be alive, still.