March For Our Lives

I don't even know where the twelve days since I returned from Louisiana have gone but they've involved moving out of our house for a week so that our floors could be refinished, a school day, some delays, Tom being out of town for three days, Oliver's birthday and parties, moving back into our house, the kitchen being largely completed, my parents coming, and, today, participating in the huge and extraordinarily moving March For Our Lives here in DC. So please, apologies for any lack of coherence and polish in this post.

Last night, as Mom, a dear family friend from Louisiana, and I made our protest signs, Oliver eagerly joined us to help with coloring and duct tape application. Earnestly, and almost as an aside, he said, "I don't want to die." Our hearts just broke. THIS is why we marched today, because too many children die or fear dying by guns. Too many people do. Every day. Gun violence is a public health crisis, a detestable scourge in this country. We can do something, and that something is NOT arming teachers.

Mom, Dad, Susan, and I started today by attending a pre-March rally in Silver Spring hosted by Jamie Raskin, state senator from Maryland's 8th. Rep Raskin is such a fine leader, one of the many reasons I'm proud to call MD home. At the rally, we heard and were fired up by the Reverend William Barber (amazing orator and person; listen to his speech to us here), MD's wonderful Attorney General, Brian Frosh, former MD governor, Martin O'Malley, some student leaders from Montgomery County (MoCo) Students for Gun Control, and Mr. Raskin himself. It should be noted that Maryland has enacted some of the strictest gun control measures in the country!

Barber speaking against the theological malpractice of those "who say so much about what God says so little, and so little about what God says so much."

We then boarded buses to Union Station and from there walked toward the chants and cheers of an ever-growing crowd blanketing Pennsylvania and Constitution Avenues from 3rd to 12th Streets (with much spilling over). 

I think each of us felt repeated waves of emotion wash over us for hours on end. Listening to young leaders like Edna Chavez, Emma Gonzalez, eleven-year-old Naomi Wadler, Matt Post (a MoCo Students for Gun Control leader), and so many inspiring others was profound. I urge you to click on each of their names and watch or read the clips I've shared. 

We appreciated others' signs, we marveled at the number of attendees (some estimates put the DC march at 800,000), and I considered how this March felt similar to and different from all the others I've attended. Most essentially, we hoped that today and what today represents marks the start of real change for a safer, saner tomorrow. 

Preach!

Check out this compilation of photos from marches around the country and world! I'm so grateful for the students leading this charge and for all who marched today.

photo by my friend, Dorothy

On guns and kitchens

I am still so upset about the most recent mass shooting that I can't wholly articulate my thoughts yet.

I will say this: If you feel that your right to have an assault rifle trumps a child's right to safely attend school, you are sick and have truly fucked up priorities. If you think that guns don't kill people, people kill people, and you can watch this video of bloody kids (shot) dead in classrooms, you are wrong and sick and have some sort of terrifyingly selfish ability to compartmentalize the facts on the ground. If you think that "thoughts and prayers" are anything but an offensive and grotesque slap in the face to all victims of gun violence, you are wrong and beyond offensive.

Emma Gonzalez, a 17-year-old student from Parkland, FL, said it best: "We call BS!" If you haven't seen her powerful speech at the anti-gun rally following the slaughter at her school, please watch.

***

In lighter news, our damn kitchen renovation. We had a few hairy days following Tuesday's debacle with the plumbing permit. On Thursday, after paying one water commission inspector $200 to come out and count our toilets (to double-confirm the number we and our plumber had already provided), I spent four hours at the water commission attempting to finish things.

Initially I was told that we would have to "put our renovation on hold for 6-8 months until WSSC could come out and install the new main and meter." Early responses to my plea that "not only do I currently have no kitchen but also I have two kids and there are holes all over my house" included "rules are rules." Ah, yes, but I didn't break the rules.

Finally, after applying for an abandonment permit, a service connection permit, attaching a notarized promise to pay for the upgraded service to my house note, paying the abandonment fee, and paying for a new permit, I was promised continuation of our renovation PENDING an inspection Friday morning. After that was complete, I waited several hours for an elusive yellow sticker to be granted. Now, we can proceed.

Fortunately, and I say this with the most sincere gratitude in the world, we really do have an amazing team. They continued work on everything that didn't require inspection such as dry wall repair, replacing a random rotten board on our deck, patching the floors, and finishing up the new register installs. Everything is looking good and cabinet delivery starts early next week. 

Before the snow started falling today, we had a gloriously sunny morning. I went nuts working in the yard- dividing my houseplants, pruning and sawing, raking and bagging. My soul felt so happy and light. My yard is one of my primary sources of life and joy. Thank goodness we can afford to keep our access to water and hoses. I am grateful. 

two happy plants are now four