[2022-08-13] Saturday Synopsis #4
Welcome to week four of the Jenesis Saturday Synopsis, a series in which I share a few notable things that came up in the past week.
Story of the week: Moving Past the Middle
This week's story is a beautiful tale by Dr. Bertice Berry, an American sociologist, author and speaker. In the 3½-minute video Moving Past the Middle, Berry recounts the story of reading the book The 1619 Project: Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones and Renée Watson to her six-year-old granddaughter. When they got to the middle of the book, which described how black Africans were stolen and brought to America by white slave traders, the granddaughter said, "this is terrible...I feel so sad." Berry acknowledged that this was a very sad thing to have happened.
Because it was time for the little girl to go to school, Berry had to leave the story in the middle. She committed to finishing the book with her granddaughter when she returned from school, but sent her off with these words: "So let me tell you now: everything's going to turn out good. Everything is wonderful. And I'm a part of it. And you're a part of it. And everything's going to be okay." When the little girl came home from school, Berry finished the book, and her granddaughter started smiling. Berry repeated: "I'm a part of this. And you're a part of this. And I'm here to make the world a better place. And you're here to make the world a better place." The little girl responded enthusiastically: "I'm black too!"
Berry then addresses her audience, saying: "Listen, you're stopping your stories in the middle of it. We're telling our stories from the point of the worst things that happened. We're recalling the worst of it, and forgetting the tools of survival. We're forgetting what our ancestors gave us, because all we can see is what was done to us. We're here because they prayed for us. We are their wildest dreams. Are you praying for your grandchildren and their grandchildren and their grandchildren? Are you creating a story of hope for them? And to the point, can you tell your story now so that it doesn't stop in the middle? That it looks down the road and to the future to know the bigger things to come?" She concludes: "If I'm here, that is the very, very definition of hope.... Get out of the middle of your story and see all the way to the end."
I was moved by Berry's narration of this loving exchange with her granddaughter and inspired by her wise counsel not to stop our stories in the middle—to see all the way to the end and beyond.
Quote of the week: The Patience of Ordinary Things
This week's quote of the week is actually a poem: "The Patience of Ordinary Things" by Pat Schneider.
It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they’re supposed to be.
I’ve been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?
I love this poem's celebration of ordinary things. Schneider's words led me to reflect on a few ordinary things that enrich my life. I offer this response:
I've always loved warm breezes that tussle my hair,
And lilacs that perfume the air,
And maple trees that release their sweet water,
And giggles that break forth from my daughter.
I've always loved the chair that receives me when I rest,
And the sun that sets in the west,
And the cat who creeps and the puppy who leaps,
And my old dog who snores when he sleeps.
I've always loved fluffy socks that warm my feet,
And the laughter of children playing in the street,
And the music that reminds me of my youth,
And the stories that share someone's truth.
I've always loved hummingbirds,
And sentences that use perfect words,
And fireworks that light the night sky,
And forests where tall trees sigh.
Though they may be ordinary,
To me, they are extraordinary.
Recipe of the week: Raspberry Crumble Cookies
On Monday, I made Apricot Crumble Cookies to drop off at my doctor's office. They were a variation on Raspberry Crumble Cookies from the Celebrating Sweets blog (I swapped out the jam and omitted the almond extract, but otherwise followed the recipe to a T). It was my doctor's first day back in the office after a month's leave. In addition to the cookies, I dropped off a card with messages of gratitude from me, Chris and the kids. Our healthcare professionals have a tough job, and I wanted the team in my doctor's office to feel a little appreciation for their work.
Song of the week: Easily
This week's song is "Easily" by British singer-songwriter Bruno Major. It showed up on my doorstep, and I invited it in to stay a while.
Photo of the week: Crumble Cookies
The photo of the week shows the test batch of crumble cookies my daughter and I made in advance of the ones I made for my doctor's office. We tried both raspberry and apricot jam and concluded that the apricot was the better of the two, though both are amazing.
