Lydia Likes It

Oh, that view

Sunset over MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts. We never tire of it.

Settling in

Do you have furniture that no longer fits your lifestyle, your space, or your needs? Here's an idea: give your furniture a second life in the home of someone who really needs it. We donated this couch -- only a few years old, and in nearly mint condition -- to the International Institute of New England, which, among the many services it provides to refugees and immigrants, sets up apartments for families moving out of shelters. IINE arranged for someone to pick up the couch and deliver it to the new apartment, and they provided us with a donation letter for tax purposes -- along with lots of gratitude, on behalf of the organization and the new couch sitters. If you are planning your own move and have furniture or other household goods you'd like to donate, please don't hesitate to contact an organization like IINE.

The volunteering life {conversation groups}

After working in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) classes for eight years, I've been thinking more and more about testing myself in a new format. Conversation groups aren't classes per se. There's no homework. No reading challenges. No tests. Conversation groups encourage students to interact with each other and with a facilitator/teacher, to get to know each other, and to share information and opinions. I've thought of a few conversation starters: (1) a list of very broad questions around a single topic (parenting, a visit to the doctor, cooking for the holidays, travel, meeting in a gym class, crafts, places to walk); and (2) reading and discussion of a recent newspaper article about a current event. Role playing could be fun, too: we all find ourselves in a new-to-us situation. How would we introduce ourselves and find out about the other people? I'm currently speaking with two agencies about possibly starting a conversation group, for a maximum of 10 students. I'll let you know how it works out.

Morning mantra

These words, which I recite early every morning — in my pajamas, over my first cup of coffee — keep me moving, thinking, writing, laughing, making art, making room, making plans. I shared this mantra, as I call it, in my book There's a What in My Where? 

I am learning every day

to allow the space 

between 

where I want to be

and 

where I am

to inspire me 

and not terrify me.

Leaders We Deserve

When he was a high school senior in 2018, David Hogg survived one of the deadliest mass shootings in an American school, at Marjory Stoneham Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Since then, David co-founded March for Our Lives, an organization that has motivated young people around the country to keep the issue of gun violence in front of the rest of us, and he went to Harvard. Now David has taken his activism to the next level; he's co-founded Leaders We Deserve, a grassroots organization dedicated to electing young progressives to Congress and State Legislatures across the country to help defeat the far-right agenda and advance a progressive vision for the future. "Our mission, "says the web site, "is to identify and elect more trailblazers – youthful, audacious, and charismatic leaders who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo. We pledge to stand with them, equipping their campaigns with the tools to succeed: from fundraising and messaging to scheduling and budgeting. We’ll raise the banner of their cause, rallying funds online and in person." And these young leaders are not out there alone. Take a look at Leaders We Deserve's Advisory Board. Impressive! And then, if you can, consider whether you might like to join me in supporting this next generation of leaders.