The Warmth of Other Suns is a dense book of beautifully combined narratives and journalism about the Great Migration of Black people from the south across the United States. As a Black woman with roots from rural Mississippi, the stories and people in this book are familiar to me in a time when so much of life feels unfamiliar. The people that are highlighted in the book didn’t know what would lie ahead for them but kept moving forward and ultimately changed the course of their families and the history of the country.  This season of life feels overwhelming and unpredictable and I take comfort in reading the survival stories of other people who made it through uncertain and tumultuous times.  

While I have decreased the amount of time that I spend scrolling aimlessly on social media, The Nap Ministry is a page whose posts always cause me to pause and reflect on my rest practices. The page centers on the idea that rest is a form of resistance and grind culture is a harmful result of capitalism and white supremacy that damages all of us.  The page is full of practical prompts and reminders for us to listen to and rest our bodies. 

Maintaining connection is important, and I keep in touch with my friends throughout the day by recording video messages via the Marco Polo app.  While video calls exhaust me, it is easier (and more convenient) for my friends and I to record messages for each other when we get a chance without having to schedule anything or sit in front of a computer. 

Like most people, I enjoy escaping into a good album or TV show.  I gravitate toward comedies to lift my mood and remind me of the silver linings that still exist in these crazy times.  A lot of my favorite music comes from other decades and I listen to those songs to remind me of some of the highlights of my life.

TV Shows: Insecure, Little Fires Everywhere, The Office  

Music: All things 90s R&B and Rap 

A Seat at the Table by Solange (Cranes in the Sky is a beautiful song that likely describes the things that many of us are using to cope) 

I love puzzles during normal times, but I find them to especially be therapeutic right now. Real life is in flux, but the pieces within a puzzle always fit together to create a beautiful scene. 

I believe that hope, like rest, takes practice and journaling is the most consistent way that I practice hope.  I’m intentionally documenting what life is like at this moment out of the belief (and hope) that it won’t always be this way, and this will someday just be a memory.  

I’m also keeping a sense of rhythm in my home by having dinner with my husband and daughters every night and enforcing my kids’ bedtime so my husband and I can have time to reconnect at the end of the day.