Dear President Trump, It isn’t often that I choose a title for a letter to you before the letter is written, but this afternoon I decided today’s title needs to be Degrees of Freedom, which really, is kind of ironic since by choosing the title ahead of time, I boxed myself in to talking about … Continue reading Degrees of freedom
Positives
ALONE / ALL ONE
Dear President Trump, I probably didn’t need to consult the Google Oracle to confirm that the rainbow pictures cropping up in windows around Seattle (many of which are also hosting Teddy bears) are related to covid-19, but I just had to be sure. And yep, they are – apparently a nurse in NYC posted rainbow … Continue reading ALONE / ALL ONE
Shiny bits of sea glass
Dear President Trump, I’ll start with a handful of positives from my morning walk since I seem to need to collect them like so many shiny bits of sea glass. First, there was the large, colorful “Happy Birthday!!!! Love You! We Love You!” chalk message outside the elderly woman’s home down the street. This is … Continue reading Shiny bits of sea glass
Could this nightmare actually be a gift to the future?
Dear President Trump, Because it’s likely that Seattle isn’t the only city doing this for kids, you and I may be the only people in the US who didn’t know about the call to put Teddy bears in your front windows so that kids walking by can count them up and have something to do … Continue reading Could this nightmare actually be a gift to the future?
Looking in, looking out
Dear President Trump, I know it’s just coincidence, but it rather looks like someone at the WP read yesterday’s letter about not losing sight of the people behind the covid-19 numbers since all four of those featured in the front page obituary section have their causes of death attributed to coronavirus (typically cause of death … Continue reading Looking in, looking out
Bearing witness beyond the numbers
Dear President Trump, Are you getting daily (sometimes it seems, hourly) reminders to take care of yourself in the midst of the covid-19 crisis? Maybe it’s a function of being in the mental health profession, but we really are getting at least daily reminders that we need take care of ourselves, that we need to … Continue reading Bearing witness beyond the numbers
Compassionate calm and calm compassion
Dear President Trump, Last week a friend of ours asked if we’d be up for doing a Zoom book club and Laura and I both signed on. We have only one copy of the book and it’s about mindfulness so I’m probably going to be the lone reader in our household. The book is by … Continue reading Compassionate calm and calm compassion
Leveraging lessons learned
Dear President Trump, It felt odd yesterday that there wasn’t some equivalent of a Town Crier cruising the streets at 5pm to announce the official start of our state’s shelter in place order. We tuned in to Representative Jayapal’s virtual 5pm Town Hall meeting so I suppose that was sort of similar, but still – … Continue reading Leveraging lessons learned
Tender responses to tenderness
Dear President Trump, Maybe they are related, but in addition to being tired much of the time, I’m also in that cry-at-the-drop-of-a-hat space much of the time. Can you relate? At all? No? I thought not. You’re more of a rage-at-the-drop-of-a-hat sort of person, aren’t you? My newly rekindled tearfulness is usually not in response … Continue reading Tender responses to tenderness
Newsflashes and pipedreams
Dear President Trump, Are you tired? I’m tired. I’ve been sleeping moderately ok every other night and sort of so-so the other nights, but by the end of every day I’m just wiped out. I’m guessing you’re on fumes. At least I’d like to think you are since that would suggest you’re concerned. Oh, but … Continue reading Newsflashes and pipedreams
Daily Trump Letters 