I am a breath, I am a wish

Happy International Women's Day to all women, but in particular to two groups of women whose experiences and work really resonate with me:

To my fellow migrant women who crossed oceans and borders for love, opportunity, adventure, or for grim necessity, in the face of (at best) bureaucratic indifference and incompetence and (at worst) vicious, violent hostility. Home is the place and the people we choose, in spite of all the obstacles put in front of us.

To the women who do the quiet, often unacknowledged, unglamorous, everyday work of building, sustaining and connecting that holds families, communities, workplaces, and countries together. I see you. To me, your work is the most important in the world.

I think of — and value — these two overlapping groups of women every single day.

Between the raindrops

We just went out for a walk, and it almost immediately began raining, having been bright and sunny for every other part of the day. I'm now drying off, having also had to do a rescue mission for laundry left outside on the washing line.

It's been a pretty lazy weekend, with lots of reading and cooking, and watching of undemanding TV.

( Reading and viewing )

I hope you've all been having good weekends.