Yesterday, my dad and sisters and almost step-nephew came to visit me. We fed compost to the chickens, watched the bees come and go, ate pizza, and saw a Christmas parade. Christmas parades, like nothing else except pollworkers, fills me with what Jane Kenyon called "love for the Republic."
I've gone into several elementary and middle schools in the past few days, as a recently certified substitute teacher (you have to give them your card and show yourself to get called; I think so they know you're not a sociopath with face tattoos?) and am struck by the warmth radiating off people here. I was trying to explain it to Noah last night. He had just got done explaining what "tepid" means to his son, and it was the perfect word. In some places, people don't use extra energy being kind to strangers. Warmth takes energy, which means wood or fuel. You only have one pig to last through the winter.
It's raining, but I'm warm.
Warmth can be sympathetic and passive like sunshine.
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