First Person Singular by Wendy Braitman

California Inferno

My neighborhood is safe, but smoke hovers in the air. Tens of thousands have had to evacuate, some of whom I know. Mother Nature is roaring after another disquieting week. I’ll be counting my blessings tonight.

Photo by Grant Denham

Grace

The other day, I came across a photo of my grandmother, or Nana as we used to call her. Born in Latvia, she immigrated to the U.S. at the turn of the last century to escape the pogroms. After that, she lived in Brooklyn alongside other Jewish immigrants. Nana was the kindest woman and one of my fiercest allies. Before her death, she gave my mom her wedding ring to hold for me when I got married. I was living in San Francisco when my grandmother died. 20  years later, I’m still haunted by the fact that I didn’t fly back for her funeral. What excuse could I possibly have had? I can no longer remember. With a heavy heart, I’ve had to forgive myself. And I hope somewhere in the astral, she and my parents do, too. 

Sign by Olivia Steele

Pasta Break

This morning in ballet class, it feel like I was taking my first deep breath in 2 years. It was short lived. To recharge, I’m on the hunt for carbs. It’s a good thing I have bolognese sauce in the freezer.

Illustration by Jean Jullien

Bright Spots

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has just become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. As of this writing, it looks like Dems will win the house. Beto is still a rock star, and we’ll be hearing more from him! It’s time for a cocktail.

Change Agents

Now it’s up to us.
(With thanks to those cheering us on from other countries.)

Bell visuals

Hope in 2018

Whenever I watch Beto O’Rourke, it feels like I’m drinking a cool glass of water in the desert. 

Photograph by Bill McCullough for The New Yorker

When You Just Can’t Do It

This week, I led a workshop for therapists who have clients in career transition. It had been on the books for months. And though I’d drawn an outline of the workshop a while ago, it took me until the night before to start to map the whole thing out. I was cramming like crazy on the morning of. I barely had time to finish. And the really peculiar part is that I’d just written a blog post on procrastination for my Coaching website. I became my own case study. What kinds of things do you put off?

Chart by Matt Shirley

Sugar Rush

Illustration by Marc Martin

It’s Scary Out There!

Scary Town by Stephanie Birdsong

In Mourning

Right before I headed off to synagogue on Saturday, I heard an initial news report about the shooting in Pittsburgh. For a moment, I remember thinking, is it safe for me to go? Being with my communty was the exact right place to be. Somehow, even in darkness, we must prevail.

Names of the fallen in Pittsburgh. Illustration by Wendy MacNaughton