Oh, how many times have I photographed this bridge over the Charles this fall? Every day, mostly. It shows the progression of the season. We are well passed peak foliage. We are bordering November. Still rust is a robust color. And green, evergreen. The evergreens will stand the winter. It was a bit of a chaotic start of the day. Wave out of bed late. Me, worried about the furniture delivery I have been arranging for my aunt. The challenges of having a delivery to someone in memory care! And not being able to be there in person to help it happen. It worked out, but I was a bit tense and irritable with worry and things I couldn’t control. Then, my sister helped move the issues forward, and my brother. And all went well, ultimately, and my aunt is happy with her new chair and love seat that we picked out weeks ago. Meanwhile, elderly dogs needing a lot of clean up, in house AND yard, the Fudgy letting himself in the front door, and Wave crying because I chased him back out. My walk was serene. My swim was serene. Everything outdoors was soaked from a lovely and necessary and desirable all night rain. Wednesday is my three-group day right now. All three groups different, and special. Craft group, commenting on writing, helping to grow it. Israeli group, so much emotion and sharing. The bond this group has is so heartening. Such a container of emotional support and reciprocity. A break in the afternoon. Oh, I also had a spat with my daughter before Wave got off to school. And instead of focusing on who was right, who was wrong, I looked at what I could take responsibility for, and texted an apology. And she came in my office twice to acknowledge it, and I was on Zoom, and finally we had a chance to talk, and I really appreciated how the spat was a way for us to have a good talk and move into deeper understanding and appreciation. I’m so grateful for that. And I needed a nap and had a nap. Kept dinner simple, prepped for my new Play Lab starting tonight, the third group and very much a teaching group. A promising group. Great sharing. I felt aligned and appreciative of Kamala’s words toward unity in the face of conflict––who is garbage? Nobody is garbage. It’s a whacky way to think our fellow human beings. No matter who is saying it and why. My compost bin fills up so much every day. it fills in the kitchen, and goes onto the porch into the big pail with the cover. Twice a week I carry the pail of “garbage” to the compost bins in the garden. I turn them a few times, then open the lids and put the “garbage” in to make fertilizer for the plants. It’s messy and smelly and earthy and juicy and swarming with organic energy. Trump calls people garbage, then Biden calls people garbage, and Kamala says “The United States of America is the greatest idea humanity ever devised. A nation big enough to encompass all our dreams, strong enough to withstand any fracture or fissure between us. And fearless enough to imagine a future of possibilities.” It’s winter, and I like to imagine what will grow from the compost my garbage is making in the bins.