a full day beckons
as long as the sun is bright
lightness holds the dark

22.06.22

Dear Reader,

Good morning on this longest day of the year~!

Yes, summer days are here, inviting, encouraging, full of growth and, I hope, some lazy hours, some good company, some fine adventures for you, for all of us.

While much has been made of Juneteenth, presenting it as a celebration of emancipation, I think of it more as a moment to reflect on why this date, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation is so important:  Because it took US troops arriving in Galveston, Texas to deliver the word that had been the law of the land for two years. And the proclamation hardly provided any pathway to any kind of equality for the newly unenslaved people then, and has not still.  I am reminded, we should ALL be reminded, that the ugliness of white supremacy persists.  There is still so much work to be done to make the USofA a more perfect union….

This year, Harvard & MIT combined three years of commencement ceremonies and reunions into one four day stretch.  Our Fair City was fairly bursting at the seams.  Irving House was as full as it could possibly be.  All hands on deck!  And even now, in the relative quiet, with moving vans emptying graduate student housing, travelers are still arriving for all sorts of reasons, with all kinds of plans.   So, while we are not officially out of the pandemic, maybe we are getting back to some new kind of normal.

It is gratifying to see that a steady stream of subscribers are signing up through our web site. Welcome new readers, wherever you are!  We are happy to receive your questions and suggestions…

We still wear masks in common areas and keep a respectful distance from those not in our family circle.  We still encourage vaccinations and booster shots of same to keep up with the variations that will now always be circulating widely.  This is our new normal.  And we count ourselves fortunate to have all the medical knowledge and services to get us through this.  We hope the same is true for you all.

And we hope to see you around Irving House some time!

Yours sincerely,

Rachael