2024Year2Month

My great-grandfather was born on February 14.  His parents named him Valentine and his friends called him Val.  The card in the photo is one of his combo Valentine’s Day/Birthday cards.  I vaguely remember seeing it in an old album when I was a kid and recognizing that the message was that people were thinking of him.  He mattered to them. Giving and receiving cards was a large part of my elementary school Valentine’s Day celebration.  The little paper cards, bearing the words “Be mine,” that we slipped into the slots of each other’s decorated shoeboxes carried the message that…

Imagine leaving all of the unpleasant things from the old year behind and just starting all over again in the new year.  Now that we’ve entered the second month of 2024 I’m aware of the 2023 residue that clings – wars, extreme weather, lingering effects of the pandemic, political animosity.  To say that we’re living in unsettled times is an understatement.  And it makes me anxious. But in addition to the anxiety that I brought into this year with me, I also brought a surprising source of inspiration: Matilda.  Matilda Hoyt Alexander, to be precise. I never met Matilda. Not…