I woke up Wednesday morning in a daze, as I think a lot of Americans did from a long election season and serious upset. I really just wanted to lay in bed all day but my three year old had a different plan. Wednesdays are our "mama days" when he and I get to plan fun things to do together around the city. We have loved taking the bus and MAX to different parts of town and simply walking to run errands, meet friends at parks, or visit our neighborhood. We also started taking a music class together at 9am every Wednesday. I was not ready to face the world but he was so looking forward to seeing his teacher and singing all of the songs he has learned. When I got to that class it looked as the other parents were feeling the same.
"Music makes you feel better. Let's sing." the teacher exclaimed tiredly as we all settled into our spots in the circle. So we sang. And danced. And banged on drums. And laughed and snuggled our kids and held them a little tighter than we had last week. I cried inside a few times because music just does that to you. (What is the song "Rainbow Connection" about anyway? I'm not sure it's supposed to be sad but it was that day.) And she was right. I did leave feeling a little bit better.
I'm just experiencing life a little differently right now. I'm really present and feeling in each situation, especially so in creative moments. This morning I decided to dance out my frustration at Zumba class and felt like I was less concerned about what I looked like (a flailing monkey) and more concerned with how it felt to move my limbs. And I felt a little bit better again. Then I came home and cooked some food and made some art and wrote some words. I'm getting it all out through art. I'm so glad I have these resources to tap into on days of despair and I was wondering how others are able to find comfort during this time?
Then when I perused facebook tonight I saw that a friend of mine, who is a mom and artist, started rallying people together for a kid-friendly protest. "Me!" I said in response to her asking "Who's in?" Then I continued to add ideas about it being an art making event maybe even with all art forms for people to feel a release together.
I feel I must do something and am wondering if this is what that something is for the time being. If nothing else, maybe it will help us all help each other feel a little bit better for a few fleeting moments so we can move forward.