“Lots of people in my childhood promised huge things: They were going to change the world, end war, stop nuclear power, start the revolution and we would love each other forever. The weight of their dreams became too heavy and they had to set them aside. They left the commune and I was sad. The people who helped me find my way through and out of the chaos did smaller, more manageable tasks. When Tante Linda married one of my caregivers, Daniel, they left the community but stayed nearby. I spent a weekend or so a month at their house. She fed me grapes and taught me to ride a Welsh pony named Missy. Trisha had already been a teacher for years when she joined the community. She sat in a hammock with me one long summer and taught me to read. They didn’t offer to be my parents. They carved out a piece of time for me and filled it with lovely things. Those things stopped me from falling all the way through the hole in the world.”
— Lee Ann Kinkade, “Curating Joy” on In The Stolen Valley Substack
Human. Chaplain. 
Leave a comment