I have been knitting away on this little cowl for weeks now. It’s been a learning experience, both in double-knitting (those vertical grey stripes on the bottom half) and in fair-isle stranded knitting (the colorwork on top). This is actually a double-sided cowl, so when I’m done with the pattern the striped bit will flip up and be the inside of the cowl. It’s merino stranded with mohair and I am v. v. excited about wearing it, so while I am a very slow stranded knitter, I’m hoping to get this finished while it’s still cool enough to wear it.

And there’s that word, hope.

Really, this cowl represents so much of my current feelings. A wish for myself and others to stay safe. Looking for bright in the darkness. And, so much hope.

Wednesday was… a lot. I was working from home that day so I was able to listen to (not so much watch) the Inaugural proceedings, and while I don’t feel like we’re out of the woods yet (obviously there is still so much work to do! – I mean I work in healthcare, I. Know. This.) I have so much hope that we can kick hatred back into the smallest of shadows and bring on a brighter and better tomorrow. I know I am not the only one to say this, but Amanda Gorman’s reading said this better than I ever could.

This young lady. When I was 22 I was invited by a professor and former Santa Barbara city Poet Laureate to read at a poetry night at a museum and I thought THAT was big (it was for me, and Barry Spacks believing in me was huge). (I promise I’ll keep writing poems, Barry.) But Amanda Gorman is on another plane altogether, and honestly it thrills me to see such a vibrant, talented young woman be called the nation’s first Youth Poet Laureate.

Someone on MSNBC said that it felt as if it’s been a battle between Old America and New America and that Amanda’s reading was like a declaration that a new, more inclusive America had won. I hope so. I am hoping that Biden’s long experience, bipartisan respect, and reliance on experts (experts, everywhere!) can bring us forward to where the U.S. really ought to be in terms of innovation, equalilty, and infrastructure. Not to mention finally dealing with the pandemic (epidemic, as it should rightly be called now) in a responsible way.

I have hope. I have hope.