August 3, 019
The Uffizi Gallery and The Duomo Walk. August 3, 2019
Today is the afternoon of August 4th and I am realizing that writing the next day is not ideal for my process. I like for the day to be fresh in my mind and by 4:00 pm the next day, (which is now), I’ve already experienced quite a bit of another day, so yesterday has lots its freshness. Live and learn. Process is important.
Two mass shootings within 24 hours in the US. With an evil, stupid, small man as the president, nothing will ever change. He is on their side and nothing will change that. So, I am feeling hopeless and ashamed of my country, of the president and his evil cronies, of a country that worships guns. How do we fit all of this into our sense of well being and morality? How can we live and breathe and tolerate an entire system that allows this to continue? As a woman, I feel the men in our country want us to feel and be small and powerless. Guns are more important than woman. Abortions are harder to get than a gun. A fucking assault rifle. Who are the sinners now? How many lives are completely shattered by these reckless, homicidal, hateful individuals? I resent sharing the world with these kinds of people. It’s hard to breathe when I think of all of this. It doesn’t make me want to come home. As a Jew, we are taught from the time we can think, to never forget. If only the Jews never forget, how can the world change? There are not enough of us to make the change happen, everyone needs to make the change happen. And the change can never, ever happen as long as nationalists, racists, sexists, etc have any say in any of this. And there are so many who have the say now. I feel so sad, deep in my throat, deep in my belly, deep in my core. I am sure you feel so sad, too. The only thing we can do is keep going. Keep breathing and taking good care of our children and our loved ones. To fight and to keep going are the only choices. I see your pain. I will keep fighting with you to make change happen.
Back to the day that was yesterday, Saturday. We went to the Uffizi Gallery. It’s always a battle for me, there are so many people, so many crowds, so much inconsideration. I try my very best to soak in the Botticellis, to let them fill my heart and my brain and my soul, because they are beautiful and beauty is so important.
Halfway through the Uffizi there is a lovely, outdoor, roof-top cafe. What a nice way to have a break. We had espressos, (Mayim is now drinking espresso, decaf, of course), and a snack. We relaxed, it was so nice to chill. A beautiful view. Excellent.
Then, we spent the rest of the day relaxing at home. The crowds were too much, it felt nice to be away from people. We had dinner, pizza party! GF pizza. My review is: it was OK. Not that great. Oh well. Pizzeria Otto on Sandy has amazing GF pizza, I am not kidding. It is delicious. Then, we dropped the boys off at home and went for an evening stroll from the Duomo to Ponte Vecchio, the bridge that crosses the Arno River. So many people were out! There were lots of people French kissing on the bridge. I wanted to watch, but I was too afraid of being caught.
Then home, to bed. And now is tomorrow! I will write about today, tonight, when it is still fresh. Tired or not.
Thank you for caring about my blog, for reading it, for supporting me when I have my doubts!!! Thank you!!!
Love and miss you!!!
Love, Eden
P.S. Towards the end of today’s images, you will see a name, Giacomo Zaganelli. At the end of the Uffizi Tour, he has three videos on exhibition. They are fantastic!!! These videos show what has been very aggravating and irritating to Aaron and myself, the hordes of people photographing everything with their phones. They walk up to a piece of art, take a photo with their phone and walk away, without even looking at the art. What is this? It is absolutely absurd and it happens constantly. His videos are spot on. Excellent.