Art

When I tell people who aren't Mormon that Mormons take for granted that God is an embodied Woman (married to an embodied Man), I'm suddenly reminded of how very Pagan Mormons are and how very cool that is. Unfortunately, Mormons have barely scratched the surface of what this means and who She is, and historically haven't been too interested in delving deeper. Several BYU scholars have remarked at this oddity, and I couldn't more emphatically recommend that everyone read this review on their research. 

Because of many of the points in this article Mormons, despite their theological makeup, have been reticent to artistically imagine Mother God and to me this is a real shame.  However, female deity is hardly a new idea. In fact, it's one of the oldest ideas out there. Check it out. 

And so, lucky lucky me, I get to see how others have filled in the gap. Welcome to The Met, house of depictions of Mother God and Her daughters. 

Today I'm grateful for the belief I have in a Mother in Heaven who is mindful of Her daughters and sons. And for those courageous enough to try to bring her to life in the minds and hearts of others.

Tradition

Every year growing up I watched The Nutcracker. And there are so many performances of it here but I didn't feel any of them were in my budget or would be super appealing, as long as it is, to Lissie this year. But then my friend Liz, super savvy and aware of all there is to do in NYC told me about a free and kid-friendly (read: short) version being performed at the World Financial Center. Double win!

Today I'm grateful for all the fun Liz's out there, and for traditions like The Nutcracker that always make me nostalgic for my childhood and for Christmas.

Beauty

Captured this image today, an older ward member caught the same subway car as us. She proceeded to play counting games with my daughter. She also happens to be a matriarch of Mormon feminism. Seeing her with my daughter was...simply beautiful.

Adventure

I love living in Manhattan because adventure could happen anytime you leave your apartment. You could see something or go somewhere new everyday and you'd never experience everything there is to experience here. It's really wonderful on days where you have lots of energy, which I'm so grateful to say, I had today.

Energy

Things I'm grateful for: a sympathetic doctor, naps, and most of all energy in a bottle. Not 100% just yet, but this is already helping. Couldn't be more grateful.

Home

For us, home is a very fluid concept and we like it that way. It's where we're from, our roots; it's everywhere we've ever been, everyone we've ever loved, met, or learned from; most of all, it's where we are now; it's the space we occupy, the people we meet and get to know; it certainly is the people we choose to make space for in our hearts, no matter how far away; and it is where we are going, wherever that is.

Home is wrapped up inside of each of us as individuals in our family. We choose to make a collective home together.

Lissie, in the moment as always, was asked where she was from the other night on the subway. She said in a slightly bemused voice, "I from New York City." Young as she is, with all the places she's lived in her short life, this was a perfectly reasonable response.

Color

Red. Autumn foliage and food. Vibrant. Festive. Beautiful. Memorable. I'm so grateful that there's color in my world.

Food

I took this photo a month or two ago at Union Square. I happened to be there on an errand the same day as their Farmer's Market. Something I love about NYC--all the Farmer's Markets; they make eating more local and seasonal food so much easier.  Today I visited one a few blocks from my apartment, right in front of Columbia's campus on Broadway.  I bought some winter squash, kale, and about $7 worth of apples, which should hopefully last Derrick until tomorrow. The man is crazy for apples. I cut into one of them today for lunch. Not very sweet, but the crunch was amazing, the pied skin gorgeous sunrise colors. I was also tempted to buy a small square of fresh honeycomb but didn't succumb. Not sure I'll have the same resolve next time.

Laughter

Tonight I was getting ready to make some mashed potatoes for dinner when I found this heart-shaped potato at the bottom of the bag. Mistakenly, I showed it to Lissie ('cause it looked awesome!) who said "a heart! My heart! I love my heart!!!" Suddenly I realized what I'd done. But then, just for my own callous amusement, I said in my adult voice "we're going to eat it". This was her reaction. It looks awful and sad, but really, it's just very funny. I finally convinced her to let me cut it up by promising to take a picture of it.

So I guess today I'm grateful for this child who makes me laugh by being the easy target of my dark humor; for idiosyncratic food; and for my phone that made the passage of his potato much easier on everyone.

Change

Knowing how much she has changed already, and how she will continue to change, makes me so much more grateful for how she is right now. In this moment.

Inspiration

Women who've broken the rules in the past, and who do so now, even in the quietest of ways, are my greatest inspiration.

Family

Creativity

One day, out of nowhere, with little to no encouragement from me, Lissie started drawing faces-people! Her artwork since then has made me so proud of her self expression and creativity in a way only parents can appreciate.

Time

Thank you, to whatever beneficent force created day planners. I say "force" because the planner is too pure, too perfect, too useful to ever have been formed by human hands. I prefer to think of my day planner, this red beauty, as having been formed in the heavens, gently wafting down to rest on my University's bookstore shelves just moments before I came searching for it. We are meant for each other, red beauty. Thanks for keeping me sane; for always seeing the things I do instead of the things I don't get around to.  You complete me.

 

Music

New York wouldn't be New York without the sounds and especially the music.

Friends

Sadly, I haven't been very diligent about taking pictures my friends, I've realized. This picture was the closest thing I could think of in terms of representing the friendships I have appreciated so much for the past few years: my Mormon Feminist Sister Friends.  Even those friends I made in Provo and elsewhere who don't self-identify as Mormon Feminists (or Mormon or Feminist), but who have known of my crazy feminist ways and still loved me for, or in spite of it, I appreciate you so much.  I wish I could list you all by name, but I'd be afraid of inadvertently leaving someone out or hurting someone's feelings. Besides, you know who you are. I couldn't have done without you.

 

Kindness

Why do we get married if not to be with someone who will be kind to us? 

Derrick has always impressed me as a sensitive, kind person. Last night I was reminded of this while we shopped for produce at the Westside Market stands. As sometimes happens in New York City, a homeless man came up to Derrick and started telling him about how rough the past few days have been. He asked Derrick for money, and Derrick apologized to him for not having any. The man then asked Derrick if he had a metrocard so he could ride the subway and get out of the cold for a while. Derrick surprised the man by immediately handing it over.

At that moment I was so grateful to be married to someone who so closely resembles some of my favorite fictional heroes. Atticus Finch. Father Gabriel from The Mission. A reformed Jean Valjean. Men who are sensitive, kind, and willing to give.

Today I am thankful for Derrick, a husband who is kind to me, and especially to others from whom he has no reasonable expectation of reciprocity.  

Holidays

I am grateful for any day that makes me stop and celebrate something good or ponderous or beautiful about life.  I'm also grateful for my decision to focus on what it means to celebrate this year (click on link above for more info). Of course there are the more traditional North American holidays that help us ponder things like abundance, life, birth and death.  I also greatly appreciate another North American holiday: Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, which is a holiday I am currently at work on instating in our house because I think there's nothing more beautiful than a ritual celebration remembering those we've loved who have left us.  I've passed the "traditional" dates of celebrating this (Mexican tradition places the dates between October 31-November6), but I just finished my midterms so cut me a break.  

Just know that in the near future you can enjoy a Day of the Dead post here on my blog.  

Here's a sneak peak for you of my paternal grandmother, a woman who wore her emotions on her sleeve. 

I love her for it.

More on her and the legacy she left me to come soon.

Sleep

Don't fall out of your chairs with surprise, but during this flare up of fatigue sleep is one of the things I am most grateful for. Another is a daughter who lets me take naps with her and tells me she loves me just before we go to sleep.

Innovation

Ladies, I've said it before and I'll say it again: the money I spent on my diva cup was the best money I've ever spent. An innovation that makes periods safer, cheaper, easier, and ecological? Yes, I think I will.