My neighbor knows how to love.
She called last Friday night to say she's baking challah bread, and asked "Do you want your loaf plain or with a few sprinkles of "Everything But the Bagel" seasoning?"
I opted for plain, so I could make cinnamon toast on Saturday morning :)
In a world filled with neighbors fighting, pain and harm, hate and darkness, my neighbor is a lightmaker, a reminder that we can, and should, take care of each other.
A few other small moments when I've been on the receiving end of joy/care this week:
~ A beautiful invitation to a meal where the directions were "bring nothing" and so I brought: nothing! (And left with leftovers, too)
~ Three tween trick-or-treaters asking if we wanted to see their dance - of course we said YES and were treated to their hysterical 30-second Alvin and the Chipmunks performance
~ A comforting prayer/poem emailed by a friend to a group of us working for justice in this election cycle (it's below)
~ A gracious extension on a writing project that I hadn't finished
~ My pup snuggling right up to me in bed, night after night, no grudges held, even on the days when he hasn't gotten enough attention
Though it might sound weird to say "I love you" to your neighbor, my bread-baking friend and I have found a way around the awkwardness, saying "I challah you" as our own code phrase, sometimes calling it out across the block, as a way to speak love into the world.
Oh, how we all need radically inclusive love in these days.
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