​Kate R. Casey M.C., LMHC Therapy: Individuals, Couples, Adolescents, Families, and Groups Contract Therapist with Working Choices, Inc. Yoga: Private Instruction, Classes, and Retreats (RYT)

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January 2021 Kate's Newsletter

Reader Words Worth Sharing Greetings Everyone! I hope you have made it to the other side of 2020, where 2021 beckons us to join in the beginning of a brand new year filled with possibility and absolutely no promises. It has been quite start to 2021 with COVID vaccinations beginning to show up, our nation’s capitol building being stormed by domestic terrorists, frightening even Republicans as government workers tried to find a safe place to hide. 2 weeks later an inauguration that kept me and others in tears for hours. How about . She is truly the one untarnished spark of light throughout the day and night. Amanda is poetry in motion with graceful movements and a smile that would not stop. She was the best part of President and Vice President Kamala the day and that is saying something because there Harris's inauguration ceremony was a star-studded were a lot of moving moments and great affair, with the likes of Lady Gaga and Jennifer entertainers, speeches designed to remind of us of Lopez stepping up to the mic. where we have been, and inspire us to move beyond. But even amidst such fanfare, a relatively unknown Let’s see how quickly the words turn into reality. figure managed to steal the show: Amanda Gorman, Do those checks go out this month to individuals and National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest families that didn’t get checks at the beginning of the inaugural poet in U.S. history. month or will they get further and further behind Gorman finished the poem, titled " We and less and less likely to ‘catch up’ if that is even Climb," the night after pro-Trump rioters sieged possible. the Capitol building earlier this month. Will the vaccinations reach all neighborhoods or “In my poem, I’m not going to in any way only those that are predominately white and gloss over what we’ve seen over the past few financially secure? weeks and, dare I say, the past few years. I’ve become quite aware of politician speak even as I But what I really aspire to do in the poem is respect the new president and all the experience he to be able to use my words to envision a way brings to the job. in which our country can still come together Time will tell. and can still heal. It’s doing that in a way As if 2021 could get anymore exciting, I am having that is not erasing or neglecting the harsh cataract surgery in February (first eye) and March truths I think America needs to reconcile with.” (second eye). My sweet granddaughter pointed out Read the full transcript of the poem below. when I was complaining about the difficulty of seeing at night that maybe I shouldn’t be driving. Gob smacked!! It was a humbling moment for me. I’ve taken my vision for granted and blamed any fluctuations on sight as spending too much time on the computer. I told my doctor, “Isn’t that surgery for older people?” She said it was now my time. I do not like anyone messing with my eyes. I don’t understand how anyone can put contact lens in and out of their eyes. I’ve always had really good vision, being able to see deer blending into the long grass, or a bird across the field, or some critter moving at the edge of the highway a distance away. Good sight for decades. I’ve been told by enough people that I will regain much of what I’ve lost over the years although still needing glasses for close up tasks. I asked my doctor how many cataract surgeries she has performed. S​ he said in what I heard as a rather smug way, that she had done thousands and had taught other students how to perform the surgery. With tears in my eyes and a tremor in my voice I said, When day comes we ask ourselves, “It’s the first for me and I’m freaked out where can we find light in this never-ending shade? about it.” The loss we carry, Aging teaches me a lot about being vulnerable. I a sea we must wade. think that’s true for all of us. We've braved the belly of the beast, We've learned that quiet isn't always peace, and the norms and notions So Many Books, of what just is ​So Little Time isn't always just-ice. And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Murder in Somehow we do it. Provence Somehow we've weathered and witnessed By: Susan a nation that isn't broken, Kiernan-Lewis but simply unfinished. We the successors of a country and a time The joy of a where a skinny Black girl good mystery descended from slaves and raised by a single with no bigger mother message than can dream of becoming president simply solving only to find herself reciting for one. the crime. And yes we are far from polished. Far from pristine. This book takes But that doesn't mean we are you further into striving to form a union that is perfect. the sleepy little We are striving to forge a union with purpose, French town of St-Buvard, where Maggie and to compose a country committed to all cultures, Laurent discover not one but four murders to spice colors, characters and up their tenure in Provence. The wine, the food, the conditions of man. scenery and sexy French chef and winemaker And so we lift our gazes not to what stands between Laurent make the journey a very palatable one us, indeed! but what stands before us. We close the divide because we know, to put our A Promised future first, we must first put our differences aside. Land We lay down our arms By: so we can reach out our arms to one another. I am half way We seek harm to none and harmony for all. through former Let the globe, if nothing else, say this is true, President Barack that even as we grieved, we grew, Obama's book, The that even as we hurt, we hoped, Promised Land that even as we tired, we tried, and enjoying it very that we'll forever be tied together, victorious. much. Not because we will never again know defeat, I seem to be steeped but because we will never again sow division. in politics this Scripture tells us to envision month, not my that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig usual style of tree activity. and no one shall make them afraid. However, it does If we're to live up to our own time, help me to understand what politics has to do with then victory won't lie in the blade. COVID, with poverty and racism, and with domestic But in all the bridges we've made, terrorism. I understand what it means when there is that is the promise to glade, a new administration in 'town' not unlike a 'new the hill we climb. sheriff'. I so appreciate how much credit the former If only we dare. president gives to his amazing wife and how much It's because being American is more than a pride appreciation he has for her. we inherit, It was fun to see the two of them on the day of the it's the past we step into inauguration as well as The Clintons and the Bushes. and how we repair it. I missed former President Carter and his wife, We've seen a force that would shatter our nation Rosalyn. Still, I felt their presence. rather than share it. Consider reading The Promised Land. It is worth Would destroy our country if it meant delaying reading, especially now. democracy. And this effort very nearly succeeded. But while democracy can be periodically delayed, it can never be permanently defeated. In this truth, in this faith we trust. For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us. This is the era of just redemption we feared at its inception. We did not feel prepared to be the heirs of such a terrifying hour but within it we found the power to author a new chapter. To offer hope and laughter to ourselves. So while once we asked, how could we possibly prevail over catastrophe? Dogs are known as man's best friend, so it goes Now we assert, without saying that the animals form tight bonds How could catastrophe possibly prevail over us? with their caregivers. This docuseries celebrates We will not march back to what was, those bonds between people and their beloved four- but move to what shall be. legged buddies. "Dogs" profiles people and their A country that is bruised but whole, pooches, telling stories from around the world -- benevolent but bold, including Syria, Japan and Costa Rica -- that prove fierce and free. the unconditional love one feels for their dog is a We will not be turned around universal truth. The show takes viewers on an or interrupted by intimidation, inspirational journey that explores the remarkable, because we know our inaction and inertia perhaps even magical, qualities that have given the will be the inheritance of the next generation. animals a special place in most people's hearts. Our blunders become their burdens. But one thing is certain, This show reminded me of a story I read about If we merge mercy with might, another dog who went above and beyond the call of and might with right, duty- check it out below: then love becomes our legacy, and change our children's birthright. So let us leave behind a country Dog Heroes better than the one we were left with. Our son was a kennel master in Afghanistan Every breath from my bronze-pounded chest, and told us about a Marine who was lost to we will raise this wounded world into a wondrous a sniper. one. The Marine’s bomb-sniffing Labrador, Eli, We will rise from the gold-limbed hills of the west. covered his body loyally until other Marines We will rise from the windswept northeast, finally pulled him off. where our forefathers first realized revolution. We will rise from the lake-rimmed cities of the Eli never worked again, as he constantly midwestern states. searched for the man he’d bonded to. We will rise from the sunbaked south. Retraining didn’t work, so Eli was retired We will rebuild, reconcile and recover. and sent to live with the Marine’s family. And every known nook of our nation and At the airport, he jumped into the arms of every corner called our country, the fallen man’s younger brother. our people diverse and beautiful will emerge, -D.T. Hartley battered and beautiful. Colorado Springs, Colorado When day comes we step out of the shade, aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free it. Artist of the Month: For there is always light, if only we're brave enough to see it. Jan Eliot If only we're brave enough to be it. Click Here for Books by Jan Eliot Available on

Jan Eliot- the creator of the comic strip Stone Soup quietly retired in July 2020, taking with her the comic strip itself. When I went in search of what happened I found that Jan did not want to turn the comic over to someone else to continue because it was so personal to her and her life. I started following Stone Soup in 1995 when she became syndicated. I love it because it was about a single mom raising two daughters, a sister that lived close by, a not your ordinary grandma, and various other characters who came and went, some stayed. I loved it. How does someone who is just 22 years old come to I got a hint that Jan was considering retiring when such a depth of understanding, making each word the characters in the strip included conversations into a vision that reaches into the heart? about retirement. I saw her later that day or the next on James I included one of my favorite strips (above) that has Cordon’s The Late Late Show revealing grace in been on the wall in my kitchen forever and describes every word and with such a delightful sense of exactly how I feel about August (my birth month). humor and ease. At one point in the strip Grandma decided to join I immediately signed up for her newsletter (google either the Peace Corps or Habitat for Humanity, Amanda Gorman and you’ll get there). upsetting her grandchildren who didn't think S​ he is the breath of youth that I want to see begin to grandma should 'abandon' the family to go on an lead our nation taking charge and inspiring us all. adventure without them. I​ t was humorous as well as poignant as the girls realized that we don't stop following our dreams just Moving Forward into 2021: because of aging. It was great. Check out the books Jan Eliot has written and read her bio. A Point to Ponder I miss Stone Soup and the creator's clever way of making day to day life so filled with insight, tears, "Now, I have been a and laughter. scoundrel in my life. I've been selfish. I've been cruel at times, hard to work with and ungrateful, but so many of you in this room have given me a second chance. And I think that's when we're at our best, when we support each other, not when we cancel each other out for past mistakes, but when we help each other to grow, when we educate each other, when we guide each other toward redemption. That is the best of community. When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric. It said, 'Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow.'" - Joaquin Phoenix

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Coming Up: Bold Acceptance- Check next month's newsletter for the significance of these two words. Kate R. Casey M.C., LMHC Therapy: Individuals, Couples, Adolescents, Families, and Groups. Contract Therapist with Working Choices, Inc. Yoga: Private Instruction, Classes, and Retreats (RYT) Visit my website by clicking here! ​ ​ Email: [email protected]