I’ve been sick since Tuesday night, with a head cold and I’ll tell you, like I’ve told everyone else who I’ve told I was sick, this past week, no…no fever. Just a miserable head cold, coughing, sore throat, headache, fatigue. Karin had it last week and as usual, passed it promptly on to me. I was working from home at the beginning of the week and was supposed to transition into the office yesterday but stayed home and worked. Today was a half-day so I stayed home today as well, but would have anyway, since I’m still snucky. I told one of my coworkers who asked this morning how I was feeling, that I was still snucky, and she was completely confused. Snackig? she asked me, which is isn’t actually a Swedish word, but I suspect is Skånska for chatty. And I laughed and had to explain that snucky is a term my family uses as a nicer way of saying “full of phlegm”. It’s from this:
That Garfield strip aired on July 17, 1986 and my college roommate and I immediately started using the word snucky, and my family picked it up and we’ve been using it ever since. I wonder if HER family does. Very handy word. You’re welcome.
Like everyone else, all over the world, I’ve been reading and watching with horror and outrage, what’s been going on “at home” in the country of my birth, with the added worry for my child who lives in downtown Detroit, smack in the middle of it. He and his boyfriend, who is Black, are both fine and the only effect on them so far is work hours being cut by the city’s curfew. I know how lucky I am to live where I do, and how I do, and how privileged my life is. I’ve felt a bit helpless this far away, and we have not participated in the marches taking place in Malmö, due to pandemic concerns. So, I watch and listen online, and post links and a black square and text for justice. I hope it does some good. I hope SOMETHING does some good, because I don’t know how much more of this we can all take. And I’m not Black or Brown or marginalized in any way…I can’t even imagine how those who are constantly take this.
I feel like all the things I am worrying about right now are so UNIMPORTANT in the grand scheme of things and the fact that I am worrying about them anyway makes me feel guilty. Karin lost her job due to the hiring freeze at our company. She’s still working at the village school for one more week but then will have no income until she can find something else. I worry about Martin daily. I worry about my mom who is dealing with my grandmother’s final decline and my sister’s kids and my friends and family who are sick or have troubles of their own. I want to go be with my mom and help her out but I can’t even do that since traveling is kind of off the table at the moment. UGH. So first world.
My friend Kathey posted a link to an organization called Tech For Campaigns, that is looking for volunteers with all kinds of technical, marketing and design experience, to work with political campaigns all over the US, for Democratic candidates. I signed up and offered graphic design skills, but don’t know if they will be able to use my services from so far away, with the time difference. I wasn’t able to provide my phone number or correct zip code because their site only allowed American formatting/options, but we’ll see. If I can help in some concrete way from so far away that would really be great; to help put people in office who are interested in working to better the country and its citizens, instead of actively working to divide and marginalize them.
Tomorrow is Sweden’s National Day but I expect we’ll spend it like we’ve spent every other day off the last three months…at home, hanging out, maybe doing chores, reading, watching TV, and watering the vegetable garden. I wish a peaceful, sunny weekend for those of you reading this. I wish a peaceful, sunny weekend for everyone.
*snuck*