Rays of Hope

Hey Friends, took a little hiatus there kinda like the one we’re all suffering from with This is Us. I’m sure our favorite show’s torturously extended break** was scheduled long ago so that writers could pull together their next eight episodes. Mine? Not so much. How I wish I’d spent the last few months writing furiously to queue up blog posts for my upcoming season. But, alas, I was instead playing the cards that life has dealt me – not all bad, by the way -- and that has left very little time for quiet reflection and blogging.

Slowly but surely, though, things are settling down and words and phrases, insights and connections are coming back to me. I still don’t feel like I have tons of time and energy at this particular point in my life to blog with them. But lately I’ve found if I don’t give them attention they continue to buzz persistently in my brain. Left unrecorded, they are a distraction. Written down, they are put in their place and order is momentarily restored like freshly folded laundry tucked tidily in the dresser drawer. In this uncertain life, it’s good for me to create something that starts with a Capital letter, ends with a punctuation mark and in between has taken a raw | confusing | overwhelming feeling and transformed it into something that kind of makes sense, even for just an instant.

It turns out that those words that dance in my brain are like rays of intense, hope-filled sunlight that cut through ominous clouds on a rainy day. They shine bright despite the looming darkness. I can try to shut them out and continue to wallow in sorrow. Or I can I give the words my attention. I’ve found that giving them my attention is the best choice. Because when the swirling words and phrases are recorded, then worked and reworked and delivered to the pages of nowtheseremain, they are like those piercing sunrays– both a welcome break in the simmering squall and a promise of brighter moments ahead. I need that in my life right now.

So I write.

Stay tuned for Season 2 beginning later next week.

**Small aside regarding that crazy little show that has captivated us all. Thanks in advance for indulging my silly rant:

Thanks, but no thanks, This is Us, for trying to appease our appetite for more Pearson family life moments with retro-styled reruns this summer. I know parts of your show are set in the 1980s but *21^st Century Newsflash* these days, we can stream old episodes on demand if we feel the need to crush on Kevin or gush over Beth and Randall’s enviable marital bliss. Sheesh. At least if you’re going to rerun them, do a 90s-style throwback and pop-up video the show with director’s notes or something. Loyal fans would totally tune in for that!