Lord, have mercy.

This week has been heavy for me.

And I’m not going to sugar coat it. Adjusting to a new place, community, and work while being separated from loved ones is hard enough, without a global pandemic, political unrest, and the threat of fires.

In many ways, my life may look like I have completely moved on, but I am still grieving. I think that’s the right word for it.

While I am safe, others are not. The places I love are on fire. The people I love are being displaced. They’re struggling to breathe.

My heart is with three communities, my current home in Atlanta, my home where my parents live, and the home of my undergraduate university, where most of my friends and mentors are.

____________________________

If you are experiencing grief, it is an appropriate and healthy emotion, a very human emotion. It’s okay to grieve and you needn’t justify that to anyone.

It’s okay to acknowledge that everything is not okay and still do normal things.

No one has the right to tell you if you are allowed to grieve or not or if you should grieve or not. That’s bullshit in the most technical sense of the term.

Neither does anyone have the right to tell you how to grieve or for how long. That’s bullshit too.

____________________________

West Coast, I may not be there in person, but I love you. I’m praying for you. I’m grieving with you. I’m holding you in the light.

Lord, have mercy.