Happy New Year 2018

     Kintsugi  is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. As a philosophy it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise. I remember my mother constantly repairing things, not with gold or silver lacquer, but with needle and thread. I had a rag doll named Suzy that I carried with me everywhere. I can’t count how many times she gave Suzy a new face and a new bonnet and she even gave her new legs using a pair of socks. I would never have thrown Suzy away. It just made me love her more. I still have Suzy. I also recall grandma’s repairs on my nephew’s Moo Cow and my son’s Cat in the Hat. At one point, Cat in the Hat’s head almost came off but after grandma’s repairs, he was as good as new.  We still have Cat in the Hat who resides in a place of honor in our home with a big smile on his face. Those repairs and scars have only endeared him to us. 

     I think this year has left a lot of us feeling broken and discouraged. I cried on Election Night 2016 because I knew what the future held. I have worked and marched and protested and done everything humanly possible to stop the onslaught of attacks against our most vulnerable citizens and against our environment. I marched in the Resistance March during the Inauguration in DC and I marched the next day in the Women’s March in DC. I have rejoiced at small glimmers of hope and sobbed at our loses. I tried, where I could, to step in to help and support those vulnerable citizens who are afraid and in need.

     Now, a new year begins. It is time for us to practice the art of Kintsugi and mend those broken places and move into the new year renewed, repaired and with courage.  It is not the time for us to whimper and whine or roll over and play dead. It is not the time for defeat. It is not the time to be silent.  In 2018 we have the chance to get our country back on track. We have a chance to send the clearest possible message to Trump and his party that this country does not support his corrupt and divisive politics. But the only way we can do this is if millions of us come together.  If there was ever a time that called for all of us to pick ourselves up and keep going, that time is now.
 
     So, here’s to Kintsugi and Suzy and Moo Cow and Cat in the Hat! They have taught us lessons about life that we all need to revisit.  Let’s welcome 2018 and get started on the hard work that lies ahead. And as Cat in the Hat would say: “You’re off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting so get on your way!”