I thought I was going to write about June 14 and my fear as well as my resolve to participate in No Kings in Portland, OR.
Then I changed my mind.
While I expect that Saturday is going to be rough, that’s not what I’m feeling drawn to write about. I have experience and scary memories of being a part of the Wall of Moms in my city during the Black Lives Matter events after George Floyd and all of the other violations of people of color in our country and communities.
Right now I need to give my body a little pause and focus on what is good.
Maybe that will help me on Saturday.
I will be showing up for the protests. Maybe I will write about them next week. For now, I want to focus on joy and play.
I’m writing this on Thursday, June 12 after a workshop—we collectively decided to rename it a playshop—run by
for the Creator Retreat.It was an hour of exploration, playfulness, connectedness, and joy.
We let each other be and do our thing. We laughed at the creativity and weirdness coming out of our mouths and shared imagined stories that came out of nowhere. Sherry kept reminding us that those stories didn’t come out of nowhere, they came out of us. That’s a truth!
What’s interesting to me is that most of the stories we wrote could be categorized as “Children’s Stories.”
A walking, talking, flying banana that knows how to use the internet
A character named Hubba Bubba who likes to do the Chubba
Edible toe fungus (you’re welcome toddlers, you know you love it!)
Some bunny-based semi-erotica (OK, not completely for children, but adjacent)
When we started, Sherry asked us to write down a random, nonsensical sentence and we started from there.
Mine was:
“Dixie picked up her talking toothbrush and hit the road for Mars.”
Then we spent ten minutes writing the story that followed our original sentence. Some of us read our stories aloud. They were so funny and quirky and heartfelt and weird.
After the playshop I asked AI to create an image of Dixie and Toothie.
Here it is:
As I’m sitting at my desk in a new space that I am calling home and writing this post in this moment, I thought I’d be sharing the story of Dixie and Toothie. Then I realized the children’s story I really want to share is one I wrote forty years ago when my second half-sister was born.
That story is one that I’ve been wanting to publish for years, but it has never materialized for a variety of reasons. The first reason is, I have no idea how to get anything published. The second is, I don’t know how to draw (yet).
The story that I wrote for Stephanie and Shannon resonates right now because of the environment I find that we are in as a country.
LuhVah
Far, far away
In the forests of Wongwei
Lived the Dribbles, who were sure
That the Drabbles were impure.
Now, the Dribbles lived in trees
And they’d swing and laugh with glee.
“Lah” was all that they would say
Morning, night. And, yes, midday.
“Lah,” they knew, was the best word
Of any word a Dribble heard.
So, “Lah, Lah, Lah” they’d sing and shout
And swing from tree to tree without
A care for whom they just might hurt.
At times a friend would land in dirt.
The Drabbles, on the other hand
Lived way down upon the sand.
“Vuh” was all they would demand
In that ancient faraway Wongwei land.
“Vuh” they knew was the best word
Of any word a Drabble heard.
So, “Vuh, Vuh, Vuh” they would exclaim
And quickly they would run away.
They’d laugh if someone was afraid.
They’d rarely ever come to aid.
It’s true.
The Dribbles hated Drabbles
And the Drabbles hated Dribbles.
The Dribbles thought the Drabbles had a one-track mind.
Since “Vuh” was all they said, the Dribbles thought they were unkind.
The Drabbles thought the same about the Dribbles saying “Lah”
And so they never got along, and they never said “Hiya!”
These games went on for many years.
Dribbles making Drabbles fear.
And Drabbles hurting Dribbles too.
It’s what they did
(it’s what we do.)
One day a baby Dribble, who had never yet been taught
that the Drabbles were a mean, old nasty “Vuh” saying lot
met a little baby Drabble sitting lonely on the sand
who was crying to himself because he couldn’t understand
what the Dribbles meant when “Lah” they would demand.
The Dribble looked way down,
And “Lah” she said out-loud.
The Drabble looked way up
And “Vuh” he said, quite proud.
“Lah” said Dribble
“Vuh” said Drabble
“Lah-Vuh” they said and smiled.
They felt they might have found a word
A word that hadn’t yet been heard.
“Lah” said Dribble
“Vuh” said Drabble
“Love” they both did babble.
And that’s the word they kept in mind
When anyone behaved unkind.
Cuz “Love is all you need”
Was Lennon’s central creed.
So, how ‘bout we all do some good
Like every Dribble or Drabble should.
Saturday I am going to write my kiddos dad’s phone number on my arm with a Sharpie. Steve and I are getting burner phones so we don’t lose our personal ones. Lachlan is joining us, so I will have both of my partners with me on this day. I’ll shoot any video I think is important. I’m bringing a pen and a small notebook. I’m not going to wear a bicycle helmet or goggles this time. That seems too aggressive. I’m going to sit down if violence occurs and encourage others around me to do the same.
And I am going to hope.
Mel, your honesty about shifting gears from expected protest narratives to a focus on joy and play deeply resonated with me. There's a common, unspoken pressure to always address the weightier issues, especially when personal experiences like being part of the "Wall of Moms" are so vivid and impactful. Your decision to give your body "a little pause" and focus on what is good speaks volumes about the wisdom of listening to our inner needs. It's a powerful reminder that sometimes, the most effective way to prepare for difficult realities, or to simply navigate them, is by actively seeking moments of light and levity. I've certainly found myself in similar mental tug-of-wars, feeling compelled to confront tough topics, only to realize that my emotional reserves needed a different kind of nourishment first. 🩵
My head was really playing the Lover song from Taylor Swift the entire time I read this.
What a lovely little story 🤩