Blessings Blog

Today I'm thankful for a necessarily relaxing weekend. I've been under the weather for a couple days, and it was so great to be able to exist in a state of sleepiness and half-brain awakedness for much of the last 72 hours. I'm fortunate that I did not have to miss any work, and that I have a flexible enough schedule that I could crawl back into bed after Zumba classes.

I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to go up to the Cities with one of my best friends on Friday to see her brother play in the first hockey game I have ever seen - the game really was beautiful and fast-paced at their level, pretty incredible! I'm thankful also for the opportunity to see the play Nellie at the History Theater, about one of Minnesota's own civil rights heroines. It was so powerful to see how racism, conflict, and struggles for civil rights played out in what I always imagined as homogenous, white small-town Minnesota, and to see my Zumba instructor in that context up on stage was another joy! She was my inspiration for getting my instructor license and has been so supportive. She's a proud believer and lets her personality shine through Zumba with ridiculous facial expressions like I do!

I'm thankful for catching up with one of my Carleton roomies on life and for her making me talk about myself to make sure I know she cares about me and that I can talk to her about anything.

I'm thankful for a productivity date with one of my housemates as she studied for an upcoming test in her nursing program and I got some writing done before my brain hit the fog of unwellness. Song changes on her Piano Guys playlist on Grooveshark were a pleasant distraction as we would listen for a few seconds to recognize which cover of a popular song had come up next as we typed away. I especially loved their instrumental version of "Bulletproof"!

I'm thankful for the two times that I needed to find parking spots at busy times in Northfield, that cars just magically pulled out to open a spot for me right where I needed to be. That's a happy coincidence.

And I'm thankful to have received this letter in the mail as a part of the follow-up from my Witness for Peace Cuba delegation. Our Regional Organizer took all of our letters that we wrote to ourselves on the last day home with her to mail them out to us a time later so that we could reflect on our experiences and find energy in our efforts. Especially important now as I'm preparing for three presentations in the next three months (with the first this Thursday!) here's what I wrote to myself:

"Dear future Kathryn,

Well, I guess it's present Kathryn at this point. This letter is part of the closing ceremony exercises of your Witness for Peace Cuba delegation as a part of proof that you were here! When not many U.S. citizens had the opportunity to come and learn and experience Cuban reality at a time of continued political stubbornness but palpable shifting tides, you were here, and you still have work to do! You have met with so many amazing, educated, intelligent, thoughtful professionals as well as everyday Cubans about how they experience life on their side of the blockade and how we love each other. That love and understanding needs to translate into political warmth. You did not get to formally meet with any dissidents, so that firsthand perspective is perhaps missing, but the overarching feeling is that Cubans are making do with what they've got and are trying to take care of each other through it all. Is the embargo/blockade knocked out yet? Have you kept in touch with Ariel and Betsy about life and questions and maintaining that connection? Will you continue to work for Cuba to have the right to sustainable development its way? Reconnect, don't fall off the face of the earth, and continue spreading knowledge about your experience in solidarity.

Love,
Past Kathryn"


So I have work to do. When my brain gets less fuzzy from whatever knocked me out this weekend, I will be writing for Cuba!

On a lighter note, this morning I got a bro nod from a college-age guy shopping at Cub dressed as Lincoln. Day made.

Oh, and my broomball team faced off against one of our rivals tonight, and I had to enter the game late because I was teaching a Zumba class, and only at the end did I see that the goalie on the opposite end was in fact the president of Carleton! And to top it off, (even though I'm pretty sure my team was just playing some solid offense and doing a great job keeping it away from my end...), he complimented me on my goal-keeping. Happy President's Day all!