Friday Open Thread (with gifts)
Hello friends!
Wow this was a hard week! But today, for me, has been good, and one of the good things was a brief, glancing, checkpoint-braving visit (at a distance) from my sister, making it the first time I’ve seen her unmediated by a screen in over a month, and as if that weren’t gift enough, she brought me a bunch of homemade cookies, and I spent the afternoon absolutely giddy with joy at having chatted with her from 6 feet away.
So today I’m asking, what’s a beautiful gift you’ve been given? Recently, anciently, objects or experiences — what has someone given you that was a thing of beauty and a joy forever?
Meanwhile my gift to all of you is this ludicrous socially-distant selfie taken from an angle that is a) absolutely terrible for me and b) makes it look like my sister is tiny and standing on my head!
Love to you all,
Amal
This was a brutally hard week. Agreed!!!
*content note for parental death*
My dad died in November, but he had bought gifts for me and my sister and our kids, and his partner dropped them off at Christmas. He gave both Domini and me rainbow-themed ornaments, and he also gave me a rainbow sapphire necklace. After he died, we both ran face-first into the homophobia and transphobia of the extended family (we are both queer, and I am non-binary) and those gifts felt like such a clear reminder that no matter what the extended family may have felt, *he* always welcomed our queerness.
Also, probably even more meaningful, he wanted us to be there with him in his last week. Neither of us had an easy relationship with him, though it was different for each of us. But in the last week, he wanted us there. After years and years of distance and hurt, he let us in. It didn't erase what had happened earlier, but it was a really meaningful and important moment of connection - something I think we had both wanted for a long time. (I wrote about it here - https://tiffanysostar.com/trajectories/)
That's a gift I've been holding onto tightly as we go through this miserable period.
My wife got me a print of Little Red Riding Hood by the artist Becca Thorne. I sort of know Becca (I wrote a poem inspired by the Red Riding Hood piece years ago) so when she found out it was for me she sent the first numbered print. It’s a beautiful piece and is coveted it for so long. http://www.antlersgallery.com/artist/becca-thorne