Plot Points #59 💌
Feeling misunderstood, ordinary courage, atmospheric novels, and the Momiform
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Hello friends! Happy (ish?) Friday.
Just like you, I have a lot of thoughts about the election; however, I’m sure we’ve all read/watched/doom-scrolled enough for the cows to come home, so I won’t be saying too much.
wrote a piece I think is absolutely what we (i.e. the entire voting public) need right now. ’s words here are also an excellent salve. Both are worth your time today.I’ve made it no secret over the years that I am ardently not a Trump supporter. Never have been, never will be. But this election cycle away from the crushing noise of social media helped me feel less anxious, afraid, and separated from those voters who feel differently than me. I have no hope in Donald Trump, but we’re all of us weary. I could hear it in the voice of a neighbor who said, “I can’t stand him, but I also can’t afford groceries.” I could sense it in the words of a woman who longed for a female president she could truly feel confident in supporting. In the end it seems few of us were truly excited about the election, regardless of how we voted. Selecting our leaders is such an immense privilege, but we’ve all been chewed up and spit out by the American Political Machine…and we feel it deeply.
On Wednesday morning, I woke up and immediately asked my husband who won. With a heavy sigh, I then made my coffee and buttered toast for Theo. Pierce kissed me before work and I got dressed while the kids watched cartoons. We left for homeschool co-op and sang to Sabrina Carpenter on the way. The barista at Starbucks smiled widely and called me “Ma’am.”
Despite what the world trumpets, this is not the end of anything. The holy work of loving our neighbors, caring for our families, and showing up to our lives is still before us. Our pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness remains a worthy call and it’s available to us at all times—because it doesn’t come from the person who sits in the Oval Office. It comes from our heavenly Father, who created us for an extraordinary, eternal purpose bound up in ordinary bodies and ordinary lives.
Later in the morning, I opened the Book of Common Prayer to a collect written for the nation in times like these. When you don’t have words to pray, I hope this collect will serve as a reminder of how many saints have gone before you, carrying your same burdens, and how the God we love will always meet us right where we are.
Peace be with you, friends. Thanks for spending some of your time with me today.
A Collect for Our Country
Almighty God, who has given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly ask that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of Your favor and glad to do Your will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in Your Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to the law, we may show forth Your praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in You to fail; all which we ask though Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Word of the Week ✍🏻
Feuillemort: (n.) The color of a dying leaf.
Point #1: They won’t understand. (And you’ll be okay.)
has a beautiful way of telling stories of hurt that are woven through with hope. As someone whose deepest fear is being misunderstood, Kristen’s essay is a crucial reminder that we need to grow in order to live fully into the people God created us to be, and sometimes that means accepting we aren’t going to receive approval. Point #2: “If you desire to learn…you can learn a great deal.”
Contrary to the trads on Instagram, we don’t homeschool because we hate public education. (I was asked that very question by Lucy’s former principal because I started crying in her office on the first day. I was suicidal from postpartum depression, but, sure lady, it’s your public school.) We homeschool because we want our children to receive an education that fits their learning styles, gives them space to grow at less than break-neck speed, and offers them the opportunity, as
so concisely points out, to “learn how to learn.”
Point #3: The biscuits! The sass! The accent of my people!
The warmth and sensuality of LilyLouTay’s simple Southern kitchen is literally my favorite thing on the internet right now. I just want to be her friend. (And eat her food!)
Point #4: I’ve never been a big Sally Rooney fan…
but she and I have this in common 💕.
Receipts from a No-Buy Year 🧾
Even though school and gift items are allowed, I have to share about the four The Good & The Beautiful readers I found at Goodwill this week. We love their homeschool curriculum, but it does tend to add up, so snagging those books for less than $3 was a total steal. I also found a still-shrink wrapped birthday box for Lucy’s party this weekend that had candles, plates, napkins, cups, tablecloth, and a birthday banner for the grand total of $2.09. I can’t believe our girl will be eleven soon 🥺. Who said she could do that???
I bought Starbucks for myself twice, but I made a ton of coffee at home, too. Did I also pick up a dozen cute sweaters at the thrift store and walk around with them like they were adorable kittens? Maybe. But did I put every single one of them back knowing that I always dress in the same outfits and don’t need another sweater I won’t wear because it messes with all my sensory issues? Yes, but not without many reminders of how much I hate turtlenecks. *pats myself on the back*
Starbucks: $11.76
Reading in The Nook 📚
I’m having such a good time with Rachel Gillig’s One Dark Window, an atmospheric fantasy about a young woman once infected with a sinister magic who nows lives with a Nightmare in her head. It’s so well-paced with a truly unique set of rules for magic and delicious plot twists. I love a fantasy with just enough darkness to make the story interesting and just enough romance to keep me turning the pages.
What are you reading this week?👇🏻
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“The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things.”
—Hands Christian Andersen
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