Random Thoughts

Something happened to me yesterday. It wasn’t a “big deal”, but it happened. And, because it wasn’t a “big deal”, I tried to push it out of my mind.   I had things to do, right?   Just keep going with life. But the thing is, it is almost 24 hours later and I am still thinking about it.   The sun is shining, it is a gorgeous day, and instead of being outside drinking it all in, I am inside, writing it all down.   Sometimes writing things down is a way of sharing them with others.   Sometimes writing things down is a way of doing a “brain dump” and getting them out of my head so that I can focus on other things.   This piece is BOTH – sharing, and dumping. If you are male, you might not understand.   The whole #MeToo thing seems ages ago now, doesn’t it?   That’s all finished, fixed, right? No.   Seemingly “little” things happen daily in the lives of women.   They happen so often that sometimes we don’t even notice them.  ...

January 1, 2021 I shaved my head.   Well, to be more precise, I asked my stylist to shave it. This was the 2 nd time in my life to be bald.   The first time I went for it was in 2001.   My mom was losing her hair due to chemo for colon cancer, so my big sister, partner and I all shaved in solidarity.   It ended up being pretty hilarious because in the months following, my mom (the actual cancer patient) looked great with her real-human hair wig, while the 3 of us who were healthy walked around with doo-rags and/or shiny heads looking like chemo patients. The first time I ever shaved my head - November 2001 But 2021 was different. I wasn’t shaving in support of someone else. I was shaving for ME. I was taking control of one thing I could control – MYSELF. 2020 was a year out-of-control.   Covid 19.   Isolation.   No socialization.   Loneliness.   Plans, big plans, cancelled.   The whole world seemed to invert and crash down on my...

I learned this lesson years ago, but apparently I needed a refresher course this evening: We “pay” with what we can.   “Currency” does not take one form. The first person to visit the Little Yellow Free Pantry gave me my reminder of that concept.   The pantry has been open since 2:00 pm on Saturday, but as of 6:00 pm Monday night far we had not had any shoppers, only DONORS!   And we have had some amazing donors!!   But I have been busy trying to figure out how to best get the word out to people who actually need the food. But then I looked outside, and in the darkness, I saw the little glow of the pantry lights…   I thought, “Someone is putting MORE in there?   It is chock full right now!”.   Then I saw a bag on the ground…   I grabbed a mask, stepped out on the back porch, and said, “Hello!”.   A woman answered back, and I walked closer to the pantry to talk. I introduced myself and she told me her name.   She was an older black...

When I was 8 years old, I was playing hide ‘n’ seek in the backyard.  I was watching “Little House on the Prairie”.  I was trying to perfect my back handspring. What I was NOT doing (yet) was being a bad-ass feminist. And that is why I was so happy when I saw this post last month:  “Don’t forget to stop by and support this bake sale fundraiser held by two sweet and amazingly bad-ass 8-year old besties right here in Fairlington! Don’t live nearby, but still want to contribute? Feel free to Venmo some funds to @Shineca-Solomon for the cause! All proceeds will go to women's rights/protection groups in honor of the late and great RBG ( futureswithoutviolence.org and nwlc.org ). Both organizations have incredible track records and are rated 4 stars on charity navigator. There will be lots of fall flavors (pumpkin, pecan, apple, and real masala chai to drink!) and DOG TREATS!! They are a little over halfway to their goal of giving each organization $1,000! Please support...

A stranger rang the doorbell this afternoon. That in and of itself is not so rare.   We often have visitors on our front porch.   But this man rang the bell, and when David answered, they engaged in conversation. The man wondered if we might have a turkey for him.   You see, tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and he and his wife did not have a turkey to cook. I was feeling overwhelmed with other “helping” tasks I was doing today, and I am embarrassed to admit that my first reaction to the request was, “What?   Someone is actually COMING TO THE HOUSE asking for a turkey?   Bizarre.”. But when David later re-told more of their conversation to me, I was proud . The man came to our house and asked because he knew he could .   He knew it would be a safe place, that he would not be looked down on, and that he might indeed find assistance.   He told David he remembers eating fresh peaches from our tree in summer.   He loves the signs of inclusiveness ...

The thing about losing someone you love is, well, gosh there are so many things… One is – if it happened yesterday, or if it happened 15 years ago, it still feels like it was too soon. If it was sudden, or slow and expected, it still feels unfair. And if it was a parent, it is heart wrenching. Yes – the traditional “plan” is that the child outlives the parent.  That’s sort of the unwritten expectation.  And yes, reversing that order would likely be much more jarring and awful.  Even so, when it happens, especially if it is your last parent and you are left (an adult) “orphan”, you feel it with every ounce of your being. Which brings me to – today is Johnny Day.  It is the 2 nd anniversary of the death of my dad, John C. Thompson.  Those who were luckily enough to know him know that he was funny (laughed at his own jokes, sometimes so hard that it was difficult for him to get through the joke), liked to trick people (his poor friend Ed, how many times ...

Next month will be 20 years since we bought the Big Yellow House. 20 years! That seems so wild. David and I are what I refer to as “commitment-phobics” – neither of us is good at committing to things. For example, no tattoos. I don’t understand HOW people DECIDE what tattoo to get! It lasts FOR-EV-ER, people! And we lived together 12 years before finally getting married. Yeah, commitment is not our strong suit. So, to realize we have lived in this house in Arlington this long is bizarre.  Anyway, the reason I mention we are going on 2 decades in this house is because one of the FIRST THINGS the realtor said when we pulled up to it was that it definitely needed work on the curb appeal. I believe what ol’ Jim W. said was, “Well Dave and Sue, the FIRST thing you should do if you decide on this property is rip out this ugly old chain link fence and replace it with some BUSHES! That’ll spruce the place up”.  Yeah…  So now, 20 years and much rust later, we are getti...