It’s Friday, which for some of us is very much like every other day of the week. Maybe we can figure out how to celebrate in a tiny way this afternoon around five o’clock and not work as much this weekend and even have a Sabbath.⁣
⁣
It’s also a good day for a Friday introduction. Welcome to everyone who has connected with me here in the past couple of weeks. It’s been lovely having this little micro-blog space. I’ve enjoyed the interactions and engaging with others who help me feel less alone.⁣
⁣
I live in Birmingham, Alabama with my husband and our two teenage children. Our daughter is a senior in high school(!?!) and our son is a sophomore.⁣
⁣
I have a love-hate relationship with this city. I’ve lived here for 27 years—since my freshman year at Birmingham-Southern College, a fantastic liberal arts school. My time there was rocky for various reasons but man, the faculty was so great. They taught me how to learn. And I think it was in college when I began to truly delight in learning.⁣
⁣
I love Birmingham because there’s so much beauty here—even in unexpected places. I love the city of Birmingham the most. We lived inside the city limits for 13 years and currently live in a suburb on the edge of Birmingham. The city has my heart. I even dreamed about our old house and neighborhood last night.⁣
⁣
But here’s the thing with Birmingham and all of the suburbs that are lumped into “Birmingham”: The sins and failings pointed out in Letter from Birmingham Jail are still here. The white church is the same white church it was then. And I don’t know what to do with that. So many people here are doing good things and believing the truth and trying to love their neighbors, but some aren’t. And it breaks my heart.⁣
⁣
We’re here for now, but we’re talking about moving later. I kind of want to live in a city where more people are perfectly fine wearing masks during pandemics. ⁣
⁣
So there’s a tiny slice of my life. I’d love to hear about where you live. What do you love? What do you hate?

(Also, 2020 gave me this new hairstyle so this year is not 100% terrible.)

*Image and words originally posted by Charlotte Donlon on Instagram.