Happy New Year! Here’s to a Bright 2021!

 

Happy New Year everyone!!!! It’s been a crazy year, but I think all of us are ready to leave it behind and step powerfully into 2021. A year that I hope will be full of kindness, compassion, growth, acceptance, love, passion, and joy, for everyone.

 

I’ll take forth some lessons myself, such as don’t drink coffee in the afternoon or evening so you can actually sleep at night (no, seriously, don’t do it), when you promise to write a series of daily blog posts that take a lot of time and energy to put out into the world maybe actually budget enough time and mental space to do it (and sleep . . . and less coffee), take time to play with the dogs to really perfect the ‘hut hut hike’ sequence with the football (Sevvie’s almost got it), and most importantly, remember to check the weather before you go out into the snow for a walk. I can almost feel my face again. (Btw, hearing Blackstreet’s ‘No Diggity’ for the first time in a while blasting through my earbuds instantly calmed me and took me to younger days❤️ I recommend it.)

 

 

So, as I sit here, my body mildly vibrating from the perfect balance of exhaustion and caffeine, I look forward to putting some of those lessons into practice in the coming days and to remember that no matter how big the mission, you’ve got to start with self-care or everyone will just be on the same sinking ship. I knew these lessons once, but a refresher never hurts.

 

And in the grander scheme, 2021 will no doubt bring change. It’s the only constant we can count on. So, my hope is that we all find ways to be kind to ourselves, lead with compassion for ourselves first and then to others, and move forward with grace as we realize everyone is just doing the best that they can. And as Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then, when you know better, do better.”

 

I’m grateful to be on this journey together and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished over the past year, both globally and in the U.S. in particular. So many curveballs and fundamental changes were thrown our way and despite some pretty unbelievable claims, we came together and stood firm in our truth for what we want from our world and our unwillingness to accept anything less. There have been moments in my life, and definitely in the past four years, where I questioned our common humanity, beliefs, and values, but I don’t anymore. I think fundamentally we’re all looking for the same things, and I’m going to do my best to lead with a solid attempt at understanding views that are different from my own, and then doing what I can to help bridge that gap through conversations, awareness, and the unequalled power of art, in its many forms, to reach people where they’re at.

 

In the meantime, I wish you a peaceful and joyous New Year’s Eve, and a Happy New Year like none we’ve ever before experienced. Because guess what, y’all? We finally have a female vice president, and things are looking up 🙂 It might have taken a lot longer to reach this point than many of us envisioned and fought for, but here we are, and I can’t wait to experience the limitless possibilities on the horizon coming to fruition.

 

And for anyone wondering how to spend tonight or tomorrow, or really any day in the near future. I will recommend the thing I’ve been recommending to everyone I know. Watch Death to 2020 on Netflix. It’s an hour-long mockumentary from the creators of Black Mirror with the likes of Samuel L. Jackson, Lisa Kudrow, Hugh Grant, and Leslie Jones, among others serving as fictional ‘experts’ breaking down the year that was 2020. I have not laughed so hard in a long, long time. It is witty and brilliant (and pay attention because the first ~20 minutes are nonstop comic gold), but then it also punches you in the gut with beautiful takes on the incredibly painful and unjust parts of this past year. It’s not a tearjerker though, so don’t worry about that (but as mentioned previously, I’ve been running on a steady diet of caffeine and insomnia so take that for what it’s worth). It will make you realize truly how much we’ve dealt with over the past year and give you hope for the kind of humor and commentary that is about to take hold again in America. Yay!!!! And, by the way, the names of the experts are hilarious. Pyrex Flask, I mean come on, that’s hilarious (science geek moment).

 

Lastly, thank you to those of you who have followed along with the series of daily blogs I’ve really been trying to keep up with to provide community and maybe even a hearty laugh to everyone at this time of year, but especially my fellow LGBTQ+ community. Thank you for your patience with my delay in getting everything finished and posted. My goal was fairly large, but lack of sleep and energy slowed me down. I am hoping to finish Day 5’s post and get it up tomorrow, which means I leapfrogged over Day 4, which is a longer and more involved post. At least part of Day 4’s post will be up tomorrow, but I appreciate your patience if you’re following along. In the meantime, if you are feeling alone or needing a laugh and/or want to stick your head in a beautiful cloud of earth-shattering, life-giving, wlw awesomeness for the foreseeable future, just follow the links in Day 3’s post to listen to one of the most incredible wlw podcasts that ever existed, “The Planet: The Podcast for L Word Fans!” Most episodes recap episodes of The L Word (the original), but the summer ones are incredible – funny, heartfelt, empowering – from two hilarious, intelligent, thoughtful, authentic, and inspiring out women, KC and Elka. I would recommend watching the Preview (aka first) episode, to get to know KC and Elka, and then the ‘Off-Season Podcast 05-03-06’ episode for KC’s hilarious retelling of her Carmen-esque Spanish teacher’s outfits (KC is a confident lady, but this teacher did her in, ha) and then a beautiful interview with Elka’s mom…along with KC’s very interesting comments regarding lesbian literature, but it’s circa 2006 remember. All of the links are in Day 3’s post. Enjoy, relax, and revel in the wlw love.

 

And big news, I’ve enabled comments on the blog posts on my website starting with the Christmas Eve movie recommendations one up to the most recent post. So please weigh in and comment but remember to keep them respectful and kind so it remains a safe and welcoming space for all (and please have patience with me as I navigate approving and moderating that as well). And finally, since I clearly have some posts to finish, and have quite a bit more to share and say, I envision continuing these posts into 2021 (though I always planned to do that for at least a little bit to help give everyone a little support as we transition to a brighter and more just future). 🌈

 

Happy New Year everyone! Here’s to a very bright 2021!