💬 It's Okay To Be Quiet Or Loud
A Midstack weekend share thread
If you’re like me you’ve spent the last days all over the place. Sad and determined, still and quiet, loud and angry, hopeful and in despair, resilient and broken, betrayed and resigned.
I know you realize there’s no right way to be right now.
One of the only highlights of this dark week for me was a HerStories/Midstory Zoom community meetup
and I hosted on Friday. Each of us shared how we were feeling that day, midlife women of all backgrounds from all over the country (and Canada) exploring their emotions and their grief. None of us had any answers for what comes next or how to get through these next days and weeks and months and years. We were just together.It was always true but now it feels like more urgent than ever: We cannot be alone.
Today I want to invite you to share below in the comments.
Even if it’s just a few words or a sentence.
Tell us about:
how you’re feeling
something you’ve written (on Substack or elsewhere)
a Substack publication you’ve discovered
something you’ve read (an article, a quote, a. book)
a photo you love
something you’re wondering
an activity you recommend
a moment of joy or hope from this week
a success or challenge you’ve had
something you need help with (on Substack or in general)
It is so lovely that you are making this space, Jessica. Yesterday I hosted 11 women in my home for what I cheekily call a "Writers's Day Spa." They come to my home, I give them breakfast, lunch, and an apero with sparking wine. They bring slippers and laptops. I invite another writing teacher and we offer two craft lessons during the day. Yesterday, we began the day with a resounding chorus of "F*ck You!!" yelled with vigor, in unison, at whomever we chose! From there we wrote! Well, they wrote and I cooked, loaded the dishwasher, refilled water glasses, which is a service and helped me so much! I also wrote my own newsletter this week:
https://readwriteeat.substack.com/p/be-where-now
With CTAs for solace, self-care, and actions for the vulnerable! xN
https://heydary.substack.com/p/a-sky-full-of-stars I wrote about trying to access hope this week- after Kamala’s concession speech I keep thinking about the song Sky Full of Stars (also a great song from Sing 2- a family favorite!) I am currently in Hawaii on my 10 year anniversary trip and I keep waking up early before sunrise to a sky full of stars at 5 am-and it feels a little hopeful. I am still very sad and scared, but I know that joy and pain can coexist. And I am very thankful my husband has been a safe space for me for 13.5 years when I have feelings that aren’t easy to deal with.
I continued my YA reading while stressed and I’m reading The Fall of Whit Rivera by Crystal Maldonado. It is wonderful and portrays a 16 yo dealing with PCOS so I love that the author brought her personal experience with PCOS to the book.
I bought a Vancouver Eras Tour ticket for a month after this trip because the price had dropped $1000 from what I was seeing in Miami. When Donald Trump is getting inaugurated in January, I want to say I got to see the Eras Tour live.