I feel like we live in a brand new world this week, although it does not escape my notice that reality has become even more bifurcated than it already was, with some of us thrilled at the election of a not-insane president while others — 71,447,246 people, as of this writing — voted for Trumpelstiltskin, and a large portion of them refuse to admit that Biden won. We are living in two different and completely opposing realities.
But at the very least, the other 76,361,997 of us who, ahem, legally and fairly and democratically voted for Biden can now immerse ourselves in this far preferable alternate reality where the sense of doom has been lifted a tiny bit.
So that they can reap the rewards of being a part of history and hopefully become good citizens one day, I’ve been exposing my daughters to more and more news in careful increments. The other day, I sat them down to watch Kamala Harris’s joy-infusing, refreshingly articulate acceptance speech after the vote tally finally crystalized. “Girls, this is a big day for our country,” I said with glee.
Now for some of the questions I fielded from five-year-olds while streaming:
On Harris’s historic appointment as Vice President, a post they have never heard of before:
So she’s not the real president then?
On the fact that we have not just our first female VP, but a woman of color at that:
Can he (Biden) be that color if he wants, too?
On what, exactly, the president does:
Is the president Mother Earth?
On my explanation that females did not used to be allowed to vote, but now they are:
How come only girls are allowed to vote?
On the exquisite mystery of life:
How do you know if someone is a boy or a girl?
On Kamala Harris in general:
Is she real?
Whether or not she’s “real,” the computer simulation we’re all in just took a turn for the better with the emergence of these new protagonists.
Meanwhile, we have a lot of work to do in our effort to be compliant citizens.
……………………
What I’m reading
Speaking of bifurcated reality and ambitious computer simulations, I just finished the epic book The Overstory and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to deeply immerse themselves in a fascinating story of magnificent creatures playing the long game: trees.
What I’m watching:
I love this quirky random video so much: Nobody Is Normal. Not sure how to describe it… fibermation?
What I’m listening to:
I started an “It’s a Bright Shiny New Day” playlist on Spotify. Any suggestions?
What I’m eating:
My new favorite weekly Sunday meal: the NY Times beef stew recipe
What I’m working on:
Lots of stuff in the works for my clients Box, Confluent, Airtable, and Strivr.
I loved so many parts of The Overstory, none more than this idea of trees as sentient beings that communicate with one another. Although then it just means humans have massacred a whole other intelligent species. Ugh. The ending, by the way, was sort of a disappointment.
It’s one of those books I insist everyone read!