Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) (Diana Ross)

[Disclaimer:  Not our family, but this photo is a placeholder until Sarah sends me the one she took a few days ago... 😍]

The highlight of this week was getting together with The MossFam6, maskless and hugging!  We have all finally had both vaccinations, and the relief is palpable.  I cried, because I just could not stop embracing my children.  Here's/cheers to better days ahead, because the world is becoming a safer place as we approach herd immunity... 💞

 It is indeed Feel Good Friday.  As is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten your day/weekend/week.  Enjoy! 

~ Biden Is Pushing a Climate Agenda. Gina McCarthy Has to Make It Stick:  Gina McCarthy, Barack Obama’s E.P.A. chief, could only watch as the Trump administration dismantled her climate work. Now, she’s back with another chance to build a lasting legacy.

~ There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing:  The neglected middle child of mental health can dull your motivation and focus — and it may be the dominant emotion of 2021.

~ The Ms. Q&A With Ani DiFranco: “You Have License To Be All the Aspects of Yourself and To Be Unashamed of Them”:  When feminist icon Ani DiFranco first stepped onto the global music scene with a defiant voice and black combat boots, she was just 19 years old.

~ Mister Rogers Heat Changing Mug:  The Mister Rogers mug features several quotes from the beloved television host, and when you add a hot beverage, Mister Rogers changes into a comfy sweater. (Yes, I ordered it, and yes, it works.  Very cool.  However, *not* dishwasher-safe!)

~ 2021 Big Read Keynote Address: Hope Jahren, Author of Lab Girl:  More than half a dozen Big Read communities from around the United States will join online for an insightful and inspiring lecture and Q&A by Hope Jahren, a scientist from rural Minnesota who not only knows her trees and flowers, but “has some serious literary chops” (The Washington Post).

SONG:  Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand) sung by Diana Ross (written by Ashford and Simpson)

BOOK:  Heart Minded: How to Hold Yourself and Others in Love by Sarah Blondin

POEM(S):  Hidden Haiku from a Times interview with Kyle Abraham

Even approaching

touch with a friend is a new

negotiation

Creed by Meg Kearney

I believe the chicken before the egg

though I believe in the egg. I believe

eating is a form of touch carried

to the bitter end; I believe chocolate

is good for you; I believe I'm a lefty

in a right-handed world, which does not

make me gauche, or abnormal, or sinister.

I believe "normal" is just a cycle on

the washing machine; I believe the touch

of hands has the power to heal, though

nothing will ever fill this immeasurable

hole in the center of my chest. I believe

in kissing; I believe in mail; I believe

in salt over the shoulder, a watched

pot never boils, and if I sit by my

mailbox waiting for the letter I want

it will never arrive—not because of

superstition, but because that's not

how life works. I believe in work:

phone calls, typing, multiplying,

black coffee, write write write, dig

dig dig, sweep sweep. I believe in

a slow, tortuous sweep of tongue

down the lover's belly; I believe I've

been swept off my feet more than once

and it's a good idea not to name names.

Digging for names is part of my work,

but that's a different poem. I believe

there's a difference between men and

women and I thank God for it. I believe

in God, and if you hold the door

and carry my books, I'll be sure to ask

for your name. What is your name? Do

you believe in ghosts? I believe

the morning my father died I heard him

whistling "Danny Boy" in the bathroom,

and a week later saw him standing in

the living room with a suitcase in his

hand. We never got to say good-bye, he

said, and I said I don't believe in

good-byes. I believe that's why I have

this hole in my chest; sometimes it's

rabid; sometimes it's incoherent. I

believe I'll survive. I believe that

"early to bed and early to rise" is

a boring way to live. I believe good

poets borrow, great poets steal, and

if only we'd stop trying to be happy

we could have a pretty good time. I

believe time doesn't heal all wounds;

I believe in getting flowers for no

reason; I believe "Give a Hoot, Don't

Pollute," "Reading is Fundamental,"

Yankee Stadium belongs in the Bronx,

and the best bagels in New York are

boiled and baked on the corner of First

and 21st. I believe in Santa

Claus, Jimmy Stewart, ZuZu's petals,

Arbor Day, and that ugly baby I keep

dreaming about—she lives inside me

opening and closing her wide mouth.

I believe she will never taste her

mother's milk; she will never be

beautiful; she will always wonder what

it's like to be born; and if you hold

your hand right here—touch me right

here, as if this is all that matters,

this is all you ever wanted, I believe

something might move inside me,

and it would be more than I could stand.

QUOTE:  "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." ~ Leo Buscaglia