Happy April 1st! I successfully pranked the kids this morning—with no tears like the time I replaced lucky charms with confetti—so my day is complete. How about you? Any good pranks this year? My goal is always to be as gentle as I hope they’ll be on me when they finally remember the day of the month.
We just came back from Costa Rica, where we spent a week for spring break. It was wonderful! We visited the same places that Aron and I went back in 2010, but of course everything felt different with kids. It was thrilling to see it with them.
This weekend my plan is to finish downloading photos and to catch up with friends, because next week is my surgery to repair my deviated septum (I can only really breathe out of one side of my nose) and I’ll be out of commission for a couple of weeks. If anyone has had a similar procedure and has last-minute tips, I’m all ears!
So, only a few links this week, as I’ve been a bit out of the loop. Let me know what pop-culture finds on your radar. I’d love to stockpile some entertainment!
We watched Wonder Woman with the kids last weekend and the premise—that it’s Aries, the God of war, who is causing mankind to destroy each other so unnaturally—keeps coming back to me this week as being especially prescient right now. As in, there must be some fantastical explanation why people keep starting wars and killing one another. How else can we understand it? I am worrying for Ukraine like everyone, of course — and then oddly living as if all were (mostly… there is still a pandemic to contend with) fine. That looks like a mix of doom-scrolling through the CNN news ticker, listening to podcasts about the history of the Soviet Union and Putin’s rise to power, at the same time as appreciating the spring blooms, going to Little League games, watching a new movie, planning summer camps and looking forward to spring break vacation. What a strange time.
One of the podcasts I enjoy most these days, Everything is Fine, talked about the whiplash of it all (around 6:45 min mark)—”mardi gras selfies, war, the Gap is having a sale”—and I’m not sure how to post on here at all without contributing to that. Honestly, that’s how it has felt for the past two years. What do I have to add that isn’t just silliness? I guess I have to assume that we are all getting our news from real news sources and doing our best, readying ourselves to make sacrifices, and then also be one of those distractions.
So, if you’re in the mood for distractions, some links…
From Colossal: Maria Prymachenko (1908–1997) was a self-taught folk artist known for her renderings of life in the Ukrainian countryside. Her gouache and watercolor works are vibrant and imaginative, depicting symmetrical red poppies tucked in a small vase or fantastical bull-like animals sprouting two-headed snakes. Expressive and consistently advocating for peace, Prymachenko’s paintings are widely known throughout Ukraine and internationally: she received a gold medal at the Paris World Fair in 1937, when Pablo Picasso is said to have dubbed her “an artistic miracle.”
Earlier this week, Russian attacks northwest of Kyiv destroyed the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum, where about 25 of her works were housed. According to the Ukrainian Institute, though, local residents were able to retrieve the pieces from the burning museum before they were lost entirely. The aggression subsequently prompted calls for Russia to be removed from UNESCO, which declared 2009 the year of Prymachenko.
My thoughts were also on our own family this week. We spent time with our family visiting from Germany and Ohio, and we celebrated Aron’s father’s life yesterday in a service attended by many of his friends, family, and colleagues. It was remarkable and inspiring to feel how much John was admired by his community—and gave me comfort to feel that he lives on in so many hearts.
