Finding Joy

Last week was a bit of a dumpster fire. All of 45's executive orders have hit hard. Both Brad and I have had our work lives turned upside down--especially him--and I don't remember the last time I have been that tired on a Friday.

So...we set out this weekend to find joy. My cousin Monica and my sister were visiting, and it was fun to catch up and go through some family memories.

I also leaned very heavily into the arts, which have always been a place I can go to restore my soul. Saturday, Brad and I ditched a lot of things we should have been doing to go to the art museum. They have a samurai exhibit that leaves this weekend, and we finally made the time to see it. It was also good to just have a little mini-date in the midst of all the crazy.

Sunday morning, I squeezed in a little time at the pottery studio:

And I finished book 3:

This one ended even better than I had hoped, and I still have one more book in the series. I appreciate the complicated relationships and that everything did end happily ever after. 

And yesterday, Issa and I went back to see her studio's debut of the season. All of the alumni were there:

I really needed a box of tissues. All of the girls have grown so much in six months--both as dancers and humans. And in a week where everything felt so very wrong, seeing these young artists take the stage and share their gifts and their love, well, the future is looking so bright. 

My heart and my soul are in a much better place this week. We have some loose plans. We have a mission. Onward...