It’s been a long few days, but besides keeping tabs on the news and all of the protests and the self-assessment and uneducation/re-education going on over here, not a lot to report.

It’s hard to tell looking at the news, but the whole pandemic thing did not go away. I’m sure the people mismanaging the hell out of that situation are excited to have attention shifted to something else they are mismanaging even more.

I am worried about the protesters anyway – what with the seeming inability of many of the folks who are supposed to keep the peace to stop being brutal during protests that are literally against their brutality. But add to that the crowds and the unmasked folks and I really really don’t want to see a big spike in illness as a result.

My favorite KingGutterBaby said this:

And obviously it’s not like we can just put a pin in racial justice until Corona moves on…but it’s still scary.

I read the first few chapters of “How to be an Anti-Racist” on Friday night and it is challenging stuff – as it should be. I have to do a little bit at a time and really think about what it means and what I need to do differently as a result.

Know better. Do better.

I joined an local Ally group on Facebook and they are having a book group discussion of “White Fragility” so I will be working on that one as well.

I also signed up for a 30 day program called “Do the Work”.

I’m really not looking for a gold star for my efforts. I just feel like I am flailing around trying to grab onto something that helps or at least helps me understand what would help. It feels like maybe other people would like to have some ideas as well.

If not just ignore and possibly roll your eyes. I can deal.

Pretty sure I’m going to get this wrong several times before I start to get it right.

***

In less emotionally complicated news from the Quar front, I ordered some more masks on Etsy which arrived and so my wardrobe has expanded.

Now I can go grocery shopping tomorrow and get more butter for my girl to bake things with. She’s on a roll.

I also forgot that I had ordered these for Jack. Graduation was supposed to be Wednesday but now it’s delayed until (maybe) the week of the 15th. So, we are all cookied up with nothing to celebrate.

Because this is the season finale of life as we know it, my air conditioner has apparently sprung a leak and they don’t make the parts to fix it anymore because it’s 16 years old. So the guy “charged” it with coolant and said it might last a little while while I figure out if I want to replace the air conditioning unit ($5K-ish – no thank you).

I hope the charge lasts through the summer and this can be a problem for post-pandemic Kristen to deal with in 2021.

***

Speaking of post pandemic (it’s not) I made a reservation at an AirBNB in Boston over 4th of July weekend to go check it out in advance of Jack’s anticipated move up there in the fall.

We’ll walk around the deserted campus, down by the river, see outside city things and eat takeout.

A parent in a FB group described Boston this week as “like something out of a dystopian novel” so that should be delightful.

***

On Sunday we sat on my friend’s patio and drank leftover rosé while talking about the state of the world and what we can do to prepare ourselves to be on the right side of history.

Our other friend said that her friend told her to prepare for another round of all of this pandemic shutdown insanity in the fall because everyone seems to have forgotten that nothing is actually fixed or over.

She suggested investing in a freezer to stock up on food.

Do I need a freezer?

Maybe I can put it in my room and just leave it open if the AC dies.

Hope you are hanging in. These are devastatingly hard times.