Constitution Day

I took a different way to work yesterday, and I saw a lawn sign in big bold, red, white, and blue letters that stated THE CONSTITUTION MATTERS. I nodded my assent and then remembered that today is Constitution Day. What perfect timing!

In 1787, two-hundred thirty-nine years ago today, the US Constitution was signed which signified the start of our government. We. The. People.

We.

The.

PEOPLE.

In order to form a more perfect union… We know we’re not there yet, but I still have hope. I still have optimism. Even with yesterday’s announcement that the current president will close the national monument of another president, with his calling a congresswoman dumb, with his irrational diatribes and unprofessional screeds, his cognitive decline apparent to anyone with eyes, ears, and soul. He has tried to destroy our country by destroying our government and the symbols we hold dear, that we cherish, and hope to continue for our children and the children of others who come here looking for a better life.

Today of all days, we need to remember the words of our Constitution, a parchment paper that was meant to be a living document, changing with the times and the advancements, of technology, of understanding, of eliminating discrimination, racism, antisemitism, and bigotry. Were those things written into the preamble of the Constitution or its first ten amendments? Not really, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t intended.

Just like a child grows into an adult, the Constitution is meant to grow as our country grows., It is meant to move forward, not backward. Ever onward.

Spend some time today with the Constitution.

Start with this video:

Then read the Constitution. I have a pocket one – it’s not very long, but it is filled with intention and hope and yes, dreams for us all.

For us all.

We the people.

We.

Sweetgrass

A few weeks ago, I spent a couple of hours at the St. Kateri Shrine and Historic Site braiding sweetgrass for their gift shop. Sweetgrass is one of the four sacred plants of the Haudenosaunee and it is used along with cedar, sage, and tobacco in their sacred ceremonies. The shrine grows it there among other native-to-the-land plants. I tried to describe the sweet smell of it and all I could come up with is that it smells like sweet grass. Not grass clippings, or freshly mowed; it’s different, but that’s as far as my olfactory vocabulary would cooperate.

During St. Kateri’s weekend, they had a sweetgrass demonstration that I participated in with one of the elders from Akwesasne, one of the Mohawk communities in upstate New York, on the border with Canada. She showed us how to pick and clean the blades and then we braided some and she taught us how to make a bookmark.

The materials couldn’t be simpler, although I couldn’t tell you where to source them: wood splints – these are shaved birch bark, I believe and freshly grown sweetgrass. You’ll need a bucket of water as the sweetgrass is easier to manipulate when it’s moist. You will love the smell that permeates throughout the space and on your fingers.

It was a fun and educational experience, so when I was sent this video on how to make a sweetgrass bookmark, I thought I would share it here as part of my ongoing writings about St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

International Women’s Day – 3

To end your day on this International Women’s Day.

We are here.

We are not going anywhere.

We will take up space.

Remember and Remembering January 6th

January 6 will forever be Trump’s legacy—a violent, unforgivable assault on our nation’s capitol. No amount of revisionism or whitewashing by the MAGA GOP will erase it. The entire world watched in horror & nothing will ever change the fact that Trump is a fraud.
Olivia of Troye on Bluesky. Olivia is a former Trump Administration official (1st term)

Please visit below the cut and ensure that January 6th is remembered, today and every day.