Childhoodtake2!

Every Friday we unite for five minutes. Only five minutes, that's all we get, that's all we have. And then, right where we are, no edits or second-thoughts, we publish those words. This week, we write on search.

Go.

Some of us search for family, some search for freedom, some search for love, some search for homes, some search for fulfillment, some search for comfort, some search for dream jobs or homes, some search for companions, some search for meaning...all search for connection. A connection is one of the many ways we are all the same. Even for those of us who are introverts, even for those of us who need the quiet and the alone, all of us search for those to connect with, love on, smooch, laugh with, squeeze tight, and bring into our circle.

The need and desire to not feel lonely anymore. Because parenting, and couplehood, and adulting, and routines, and life can all be so lonely. And it is the connection, the true, the meaningful and deep connections that make us whole. Because the truth is, your person isn't enough. You can't expect to get it all from them. And your little faces grow and find their circle too. It is the connections that keep us sane, and laughing, and happy, remember happy?

Just last month, I watched my daughter meet up with a group of girls and I saw it unfold. I saw why she is so happy, I saw how much they hysterically laughed just by being in the same space. I saw it burst out of them. I see her recognize a friend she hadn't seen in a while and throw her arms around the person like they were long lost friends that haven't seen each other in years. And I see me. Who I have always been. The one that searches for connection and framily.

The search is one of the many things that makes us the same.

Stop.

Every Friday we unite for five minutes to write on one word. Only five minutes, that's all we get, that's all we have. And then, right where we are, no edits or second-thoughts, we publish those words. This week, we write on future.
Go.

No one knows, right?
What tomorrow will bring,
what the future holds?
No one knows if there is a tomorrow, if they have a future.
But for some reason, we all keep making plans
even though nothing is promised
and I see that as hope unfolding each and every day.

I hope that this third date leads to a future with you.
I hope that one day you will be my forever.
I hope that we will build a future together.
I hope that this anniversary isn't our last.
I hope we spend our 40s owning our lives.
I hope we give them the best future possible.
I hope that we are setting them up for a future.
I hope that they see their future as exciting.

Hope is what keeps us making plans.
Hope is why we go to bed angry, hoping we have tomorrow to make up.
Hope is why we think it's a better time another day.
Hope is even why we put things off, I hope to get to that one day.
So hope can be beautiful and calming and peacful
because we are not saying never, we are saying in the future.

The reality is much darker
much more fearful and full of sadness
the never promised tomorrow
the not knowing what the future holds.

So, we make plans.
We make future plans.
And we build today around tomorrow.
We hope to see another day that gets us one day closer to our future.

Stop.

Every Friday we unite for five minutes to write on one word. Only five minutes, that's all we get, that's all we have. And then, right where we are, no edits or second-thoughts, we publish those words. This week, we write on connect.
Go.

People need people, and real connections.

We build bigger homes,
move to places where we have space,
and stop connecting with our neighbors.

We bring children to parks
and sit alone worried about who is looking, judging, not wanting to talk.

We are always on our phones,
pretending to connect, but really alone.

We work out,
alone.

We sit on computers, pretending that we are reaching out, but never really connecting.
And we lie to ourselves and say we are too busy
for people.

Because it is so much easier to judge and write hate then it is to look someone in the eye and say what we are confident in saying across a screen.

We have all lost our connection
to our communities, to each other, and even to those we love, our families.

And, for those that feel we need to all take better care of each other,
our message needs to be louder.
We need to reach across the table and say to a fellow parent,
I have been there too, I understand and you can talk to me, without judgments.
We need to tell our co-workers,
what can I do to help you?
We need to invite our neighbors over for coffee, find out what we can do to help each other out more, call on each other more.
We need to connect.

Because once you have someone in front of you, hatred and hateful words are more difficult.
Because once you are in the presence of people, it's harder to feel alone and isolated.
Because once we all start speaking our truth, it's harder to judge anyone else.
As people, we are all in this together.
We are all trying to figure out a way to survive and make this life worth living for all.
And the only way to stop hate is to connect on a loving level.

So many of my friends have reached across the divide and are starting to open their homes, their lives to connection.
So many of my friends are realizing that too many of us feel isolated and alone, even when in large groups.
So many of my friends are realizing that many are faking their busy so not to show how alone they really are.
And so they have made an effort to say enough, my home, my friendship and I am open to you.

People need people and true connections.

Stop.