Prudence & Care, Community & Love: What TO DO Right Now
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- By Susannah
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Hello, dear ones. How are you?
We're ok. And by that we mean: we're feeling LOTS of big feelings and trying to take it one day at a time over here. Whew! It's a lot!
On the one hand, the sum total of distancing and separation has us feeling a little...isolated. But, we are trying to choose instead to think of it this way: the enforced slowing down in the name of protecting the most vulnerable among us is itself actually an act of radical togetherness.
And, while on the one hand we are certainly missing the daily rhythms of our shop-life and the [veneer!] of normalcy that our usual rituals enforce, in some ways, the mandate to just *be* at home, open and available to the possibilities and gifts of simply existing in our humble spaces is an opportunity to rise to the occasion and live our exact Foundry Ethos: build a home you love, live in it with quiet joy and intention...like all of our thoughtfully chosen linens and ruminations on the restorative power of a cup of tea were a dress rehearsal for this exact moment...as if the universe said: yeah you talk the talk but can you walk the walk? Well, Universe? WE CAN.
And while we might not be *physically* together, there is nothing. Nothing as powerful as community. We are (quite literally) feeling the love from our Foundry community and it warms our hearts and keeps us going. Like family, we help each other out, and we lift each other up. We are movers, shakers, and do-ers. In this moment, where moving and shaking are pretty much limited to solo dance parties, here's some THINGS. TO. DO.
THINGS TO DO IN YOUR HOUSE
- Dance. A special "dance like (literally) no one is watching" playlist from us to you... Mamas & Papas, stay tuned: Kiddo Dance Party Playlist coming up next!
- Bake. Anna made Mark Bittman's no-knead-bread this this week. Lillian "Foundry Lover And Minister Of Cakes" is considering whipping this one up from "Simple Cake". And Susannah will be making these Molasses Cookies tomorrow with three year old Lois (whose favorite part is dipping the dough ball in the sugar, duh).
- Clean. Or maybe wait another few days to start cleaning and have a hot toddy party instead.
- Get Outside. If you can. Nothing is better than an out-of-doors reset. Interestingly enough, a 6' dog leash functions pretty perfectly for social distancing: maintain "one Ruby unit" of distance!! We also loved this article about Birding and Social Distancing.
- Read a Book. Did you know Hennepin County Library offers FREE audiobooks and e-books with your library card? Wonders never cease. And for those of you with kiddos at home, we loved this guide for building structure/sanity into days spent at home.
- Relax. Turn off your phone and (try to) turn off your brain. Rub yourself with oils. Take a bath. Go to bed early. Take a breath. And if you can't seem to put down your phone juuuust yet, go here, here, or here. And remember: there is also a certain grace and generosity in the act of intentionally doing nothing.
THINGS TO DO TO IN YOUR COMMUNITY IN SUPPORT OF LIVELIHOODS
As we're all respectfully pausing and distancing, businesses are feeling the tension. We've pulled together this quick'n'dirty just from talking to our friends + fellow small-business-owners (and if you have any great ideas as the situation matures, we're all ears!).
- Buy a giftcard for a service to be redeemed later. Yoga, massage, acupuncture. Coffee beans, cake, dinner out. Photography package, house concert TBD, voice lessons... support your the creative community!
- If you don't personally know anyone to support individually, Springboard For The Arts is an amazing local organization that has set up a special emergency response fund. Read about that here or just go here to donate.
THINGS TO DO IN YOUR COMMUNITY IN SUPPORT OF LIVES
There is also some interesting space here for exploring the concept of privilege. How fortunate so many of us are to have ample food, secure housing, enough resources...even having enough mental space for an abundance of concern for others is itself a privilege. This is all to say: this can also be an opportunity for an abundance of generosity. Beyond literal physical health and wellbeing, there are those in our communities being affected by these uncertainties in ways way beyond "going stir crazy" or "my thing was cancelled"... humans are being affected and will be affected in ways we don't even know about yet... It's hard to parse and even harder to know what to do (like: usually we'd say something like "go volunteer at the soup kitchen!" but... how do you "build community" when you can't physically *be* a community?). So, here's a reminder to check in with your older neighbors, sure, but also to give when, where, and how you can. You might consider starting here:
Second Harvest Heartland Food Bank
People Serving People Family Shelters
We love you all deeply and stay tuned for more missives, heartfelt updates, and sneak-peeks into the wild and wonderful Foundry-verse. Be safe, be well, and be excellent to each other.
Thanks for being a voice of calm and care during this weird time (and always).
I just discovered a face to face function on instagram. Polly our lab accidentally butt dialed my niece and we were able to fade time with them on the road. It was very easy and delightful.