Sunday Sundae #2

Finding moments of joy is important, even more so when times are dark.

This is Sunday Sundae, so our focus is the sprinkles on top and the highlights of the past two weeks, but let me tell you, yesterday, I cried talking to my fiancé about the terrifying decisions that have been coming out of the supreme court. Witnessing our country’s backward slide as our government unravels decades of rights that have been fought for and won is deeply disturbing. Keeping up with the news, talking to people about the genocide in Gaza, trying to stay afloat in a country descending deeper into fascism by the day - it’s a scary time to exist, with no time to process any of it. But we are stronger together. Building community is a form of resistance. Joy is a form of resistance. And those are both vital to our wellbeing and our ability to give to others and to show up. Capitalism thrives on individualism and isolation, but it is not our natural state of being! We belong in connection and community. I’m an introvert working hard to come out of my shell, because I LOVE meaningful connections. The past two weeks, I managed to make plenty of time to fill my empty cup and found so many moments of joy and community!

What I’m learning:

I’ve been teaching myself video editing so I can finish up and bring you my first Fridays with Friends conversation. iMovie has been giving me a lot of quitting errors, but overall I’m getting the hang of it!

It’s also just about time to start working on my lessons for the fall. This year, I’ll be teaching World and AP World History and Media Studies and I’ll share all the history and interesting facts I learn along the way.

Reading:

Doing my best to keep it focused on these two for the moment:

The Myth of Making It, The Artist's Way

What brought me joy the past two weeks:

Wow, so much! It feels good to say that.

Last Friday, Drew and I took our engagement photos! It was my first time being photographed by a professional photographer that was not a friend, and our first time being photographed together. Our photographer, Lena, is going to be shooting our wedding as well. We loved working with her, she made it such a fun experience, and our photos are stunning so far!

We also celebrated a friend on a boat - although I was born and raised in Florida, I haven’t been on a boat (with the exception of a sailboat in Maryland over a decade ago) since I was a kid. The weather was rough, and some people didn’t make it, but our steadfastness was rewarded with a beautiful rainbow as the sky opened up and the rained slowed while we swam in the bay. I also faced a fear and jumped off the top of the boat with a new friend! The last time I jumped from 30 feet, I seriously injured my back and haven’t attempted a jump since. This jump was lower, and I’m so glad I did it!

I also met up for lunch with a friend who I talk to regularly online ALL the time, but haven’t seen in person in eighteen! years. She brought me some of her homemade sourdough, and we finished lunch with gelato and a stroll.

Feeling grateful for the opportunities to connect with friends old and new and share joy and laughter the past two weeks.

Lastly, for my own creativity, I signed up for a new four week pottery course starting in August. If you’ve known me a while, you know that pottery has been one of my big loves since high school. I worked in the ceramics industry in 2014/2015 and loved it. When I had the money for a membership a few years later, I found and joined my dream studio in 2019 and was just diving back into the wonderful world of ceramics when the studio closed during the pandemic and never reopened. I’ve tried a few other studios and classes since, but nothing has felt like the right fit. I’m really hopeful for this new studio and excited to share my journey with this new pottery class next month! I am a hand builder, but this time around, I’m going to give wheel throwing another try. There will be lots to learn!

Resources and Links:

If you’d like to know more about the Supreme Court decisions I referenced earlier in the newsletter, here’s a helpful breakdown on Instagram by so.informed.

Thanks for being here. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what brought you joy this week! I’d love to hear.

Historically yours,

Dana