There’s no shortage of things to be grateful for in this world. Of course, the past year has made it difficult at times to acknowledge life’s joys, whether they be simple or profound.
I’ve struggled to maintain a daily practice Lauren and I started several years ago in which we express gratitude for a few things, no matter how small. I have no excuse beyond saying what you may feel to be true, as well: the world has just taken on a darker tint of late.
So, in the spirit of gratitude—and in recognition of the science that shows its ability to boost our happiness and health—I’m giving thanks.
I’m grateful for a stretch of sunny weather here in Seattle that has afforded us more opportunities for long walks.
I’m grateful for my friends, near and far, and for the friendships I’ve rekindled in text or Twitter threads.
I’m grateful for my family’s health, that my parents and sister are vaccinated, and that Lauren will get her first shot this week.
I’m grateful for Lauren’s prenatal care and the wonderful thought of a baby boy joining us this summer.
What are you grateful for? - MS
Frances, Martha, and Harriet
The extraordinary story of Frances A. Seward, Martha Coffin Wright, and Harriet Tubman, friends and partners in the fight for abolition and, later, women’s suffrage.
>> The Pre-Civil War Fight Against White Supremacy
The Price of Innocence
A beautiful and wrenching essay from a DREAMer struggling to reconcile an Amerca that celebrates her innocence while demonizing her parents. This is some of the best writing I’ve seen recently.
>> Waking Up from the American Dream
Build. More. Housing.
“There is a danger … that politics becomes an aesthetic rather than a program. It’s a danger on the right, where Donald Trump modeled a presidency that cared more about retweets than bills. But it’s also a danger on the left, where the symbols of progressivism are often preferred to the sacrifices and risks those ideals demand.”
As I’ve written about before, soaring housing costs in major coastal cities is one of the Democratic Party’s worst policy failures. This is a much-needed critique of what’s gone wrong in California, where “historical preservation” and faux environmentalism gets in the way of making cities more livable for everyone.