With all my references to Havi Brooks’s practices, sometimes I worry about coming across as a Fluent Self cultist, but the second half of 2011 has been challenging for me in a number of ways, and I find myself reaching deep into Havi’s wide-ranging toolkit of emergency calming techniques, reflective writing prompts, and sovereignty-preservation exercises. I’ve been doing more reflecting and journaling, taking a quasi Havi-style silent retreat from certain topics on the blog. I can credit a pretty crazy fall semester, the illness and death of my grandmother in late summer, and a tough year in just about every way for Fang.
I ended the year on a sad note, as I learned that my grandmother’s house is in escrow, so I paid my last visit to it during my annual holiday trip to Long Beach. The house has been in the family since 1920, so it’s a pretty special place to me. I took some snapshots of the house from the angles I most want to remember it. It has a different energy now since it had been staged for viewing by potential buyers, but the house is so thick with memories that I couldn’t help but have a good cry in every room.
Here, then, without comment are a few of the photos from that visit.
Grandma gave me her original wedding ring when I married Fang.
Here’s to a better new year, for us and all Clutter Museum readers. Thanks for sticking around.
Thanks for sharing this. The angled shot of the kitchen is my favorite. I can almost imagine your grandmother looking out the window while doing dishes.