M. Suzanne Terry

Yay, Maggie and Michelle! They are here in my house this weekend! I am looking at them right now. I was so excited they were coming into town that I didn’t remember to post this on Friday. We have eaten a lot of cheese and blueberry sourdough and also went to see The Importance of Being Earnest at the community theatre last night. Happy all around.

Some more things that made me happy this week:

• I grew up singing in church choirs. It was always my favorite thing about church, a place where, otherwise, I felt as awkward and out of place as I did everywhere else growing up. I can’t listen to so many songs that we sang without feeling that gut punch of knowing how often they were used to belittle others (we called it speaking the truth in love) and shut them out (we hid behind our wildly out-of-context interpretation of the Bible’s instruction to be set apart for Christ). I remember how scandalous it was when a Christian singer, songwriter, speaker, preacher, etc., stepped outside the prescribed, approved path (i.e., anything but straight, conservative, and behaving according to their assigned gender role). As someone who knew how painful the rejection of not living up to said path could be, I had a soft spot in my heart for these people who were living our shared faith the best they could, despite not fitting their assigned boxes, in a very public arena, even before I understood how much I would come to agree with many of them as I got older. This week, I curled in a ball and sobbed when I read about the rerelease of Testify to Love, a reimagining that celebrates how big and wide God’s love really is. While it is very different in style from the songs I sing in my church choir now, that sad, serious inner child of mine with so much love to give just healed a little. 
• I love this piece on self-compassion. Here are some golden nuggets that make me feel seen:
  • “I decided long ago that I would rather beat myself up every day for the rest of my life than whisper to myself about how the Universe is conspiring in my favor.”
  • “I try to approach my own brain the way I would approach a skittish rescue animal—no sudden movements.“
  • “I remind myself that I am not competing in the Trauma Olympics. I’m allowed to have feelings even if someone else has it worse.”
  • “Sometimes [self-compassion] looks profound. Sometimes it looks like eating sour gummy candy in my car while telling myself to calm the hell down before I ruin my own day. Either way, I think it counts.”
• I love two things about Jenny Lawson’s post this week. First, I relate to the perpetual being behind on many cultural commentaries. I, too, get lost in my deep dives. Also, I sometimes have to take in information more thoroughly before I fully form my opinion about it. I blame (i.e., thank) my communication degree. Conflict management teaches response rather than reaction, and so much of what we get, particularly on social media, is mainly reaction (not all – some people just process information really quickly and can get their response out faster). And second, I am very excited to learn what she names her new foster fail kitty. The little face! That cat knows it’s found a home.
• There is going to be a Grey’s Anatomy spin-off that takes place in West Texas. Yessss. 
• Thom Yorke was inducted into the Fellowship of the Ivors Academy. Harry Styles presented him with the award. And Yorke’s acceptance speech was also brilliant. I love it when musicians are also good writers.

Hope you’re having a fun weekend, too!